• Partners
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Submit an Article
Saturday, June 28, 2025
Digital Boom
  • News
  • Startups
  • Marketing
    • Digital Advertising
    • Insights
  • Campaigns
  • Tech
  • Guides
  • Market Watch
  • More
    • Careers
    • Ramadan Specials
    • Culture
    • Travel
    • Glossary
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Startups
  • Marketing
    • Digital Advertising
    • Insights
  • Campaigns
  • Tech
  • Guides
  • Market Watch
  • More
    • Careers
    • Ramadan Specials
    • Culture
    • Travel
    • Glossary
No Result
View All Result
Digital Boom
No Result
View All Result
Home Insights

Why Middle East marketing and politics don’t mix

Alex Malouf by Alex Malouf
May 17, 2017
in Insights
0
pizza hut palatine, pizza hut boycott, pizza hut israel, boycott pizza hut

Growing up in the region, I was (and still am) far too talkative. To keep me from getting into trouble, I was told, in no uncertain terms by my late father that I shouldn’t talk about politics, religion and sex (this always made me laugh as he’d proceed to do exactly what he advised me against).

His words should have been heeded by the marketing team at Pizza Hut’s Israel franchise. For those who haven’t yet read the story earlier last week. the fast food chain’s Israeli branch doctored a picture released by Israeli police allegedly showing Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barhgouti breaking his fast by eating a chocolate bar. In Hebrew, Israel’s Pizza Hut marketing team wrote: “Barghouti, if you’re going to break a strike, why not pizza?” The chain also Photoshopped a pizza box onto the floor of the prison cell along with a slice of pizza in the sink.

Unsurprisingly, the stunt backfired and caused a backlash on social media. Pizza Hut International moved to limit the damage by posting an apology and announcing that the marketing agency behind the initiative had been fired (there was no mention of what happened to the person on the client side who approved the image’s creation and posting).

Pizza Hut has learned the hard way that marketing and politics don’t mix, especially in the Middle East. There’s a couple of basic points that marketers need to take from this debacle:

  • Politics polarizes to the extreme: Few brands would want to touch any issue relating to Israel and the Palestinians, due to the intensity of emotions on both sides. By appealing to one audience, you’ve essentially alienated the other side, no matter what your content or message is.
  • Digital is borderless: This concept may have worked before the internet, when advertising was restricted to TV, print or radio, and didn’t go viral. However, there’s nowhere for bad advertising to hide in a digital world where billions of eyeballs can see your content. Advertising intended for one audience can – and in this case did – spread to an audience who have a contrasting opinion. Likewise, calls for a boycott are no longer local, but are regional or global in nature.
  • An apology only fans the flames: Pizza Hut’s apology on such a controversial issue may have only made the situation worse. Whilst the original post alienated Palestinian activists and their supporters, the apology would have upset many Israelis who are opposed to the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. The chain would have lost fans, and sales, on both sides.

Politics can be leveraged in a manner that can build brand equity – Heineken proved that with its latest #OpenYourWorld ad which attempts to promote debate and dialogue between people with differing political persuasions. However, for every Heineken, there’s a dozen Pepsis. A marketer will to use Middle East politics in his or her content would be a much braver soul than me. I’ll continue to follow my father’s advice, at least when it comes to advertising, and keep away from politics, religion, and sex.

Join Our Community

Previous Post

Hussein M. Dajani Bids Farewell to Hug Digital

Next Post

Egyptian Bot ‘HireHunt’ among the 60 finalists in Facebook’s Messenger Challenge Bot Competition

Alex Malouf

Alex Malouf

Related Stories

GoDaddy's Global Markets VP Predicts Egypt's E-commerce to Hit $9.88 Billion by 2028
Insights

GoDaddy’s Global Markets VP Predicts Egypt’s E-commerce to Hit $9.88 Billion by 2028

December 24, 2023 - Updated on May 17, 2025
Case Study: How Tarek Nour Turned La Poire's 2020 Ramadan Campaign into Marketing Gold
Insights

Case Study: How Tarek Nour Turned La Poire’s 2020 Ramadan Campaign into Marketing Gold

January 12, 2021 - Updated on June 22, 2025
10 tips for managing a successful cause on Facebook
Guides

10 tips for managing a successful cause on Facebook

August 31, 2018
Sponsors hijack Egypt's World Cup 2018 airplane branding, Osman Badran Shares His Thoughts on Egypt’s National Football Team’s Plane Branding
Insights

Sponsors hijack Egypt’s World Cup 2018 airplane branding

March 22, 2018
McDonald's Egypt Misspellings, mcdonald's Egypt Ezbet Khairallah, McDonald's Misspellings Spark Viral Campaign
Campaigns

McDonald’s Egypt Misspellings Spark Viral Campaign

October 27, 2017
The Colour of Corruption Case Study
Insights

The Colour of Corruption Case Study

October 16, 2017
The Complete Guide to Marketing Attribution in 2025: Advanced Models, MENA Insights & Server-Side Implementation

Marketing Attribution Guide for MENA Marketers

June 25, 2025 - Updated on June 27, 2025
What Is Conversion Rate? Definition, Formula & Benchmarks

What Is Conversion Rate? Definition, Formula & Benchmarks

June 25, 2025 - Updated on June 27, 2025
How to deactivate or delete your Snapchat account?

How to Delete Your Snapchat Account (Step-by-Step 2025)

June 25, 2025 - Updated on June 27, 2025
Chief Marketing Officer Job Description

Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Job Description in MENA: Skills & Salary Guide 2025

June 25, 2025
How to delete your TikTok account

How to Delete Your TikTok Account Permanently (2025 Guide)

June 25, 2025
Mai medhat profile

Mai Medhat: How Egyptian Serial Entrepreneur Cracked the SaaS Exit Code

June 24, 2025 - Updated on June 27, 2025
  • Partners
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Submit an Article

© 2025 Digital Boom, Inc.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Startups
  • Marketing
    • Digital Advertising
    • Insights
  • Campaigns
  • Tech
  • Guides
  • Market Watch
  • More
    • Careers
    • Ramadan Specials
    • Culture
    • Travel
    • Glossary

© 2025 Digital Boom, Inc.