Bonjour, Israel! The French Conquer the Top of the Ad Chart in Style

Kobi Liberman | 26/06/23 | 08:00 AM

In collaboration with YouTube

It’s not every month, nor every year or even every decade, that a new food chain is launched in Israel, not to mention an international one. This May included the launch of French Carrefour, with a campaign that spoke to us in French, pressed all the right buttons for Israelis, and excitedly exclaimed: ‘Bonjour, Israel!’. Along with the National Insurance Institute honoring senior citizens, the synergy between Leo Messi and Tapuchips, and McDonald’s Israel 30th anniversary, these are the campaigns that made it to the top five in YouTube’s and Ynet’s May ad chart.

In first place: Carrefour Israel

French Carrefour has landed in Israel with its Parisian chic, baguette aromas, and the promise of a new price standard. The video, which led the view chart this month, excelled in strumming our pain as Israelis – working too hard, reporting to reserve duty, and getting stuck in traffic en route to aunty – and in offering an alternative that sounds very very good.

“We knew from the get-go we need to do something different,” says Tal Heistein, Carrefour Israel CMO. “The French food giant landing in Israel, it’s not something that happens every day. So we wanted to bring the ‘Frenchness’. We started our story in France. It was clear to us that we’re not going with a presenter, but with an anonymous storyteller. That’s how we came to the story that goes from the Eifel Tower to Israel.”

Idan Regev, Chief Creative Officer at LEAD Advertising Agency, adds that “one of the main challenges we faced was rain in Paris, that made us push the schedule forward and film a day early, while there were angry protests on the streets of Paris.”

Heistein expands, “the challenge in terms of marketing was penetrating a saturated market. What people have been waiting for is an international, high-quality, conveniently-priced brand. So we decided to be straightforward and bring the facts as they are – French chain, high quality, thousands of products in affordable prices.”

Yarden Weizel, Carrefour Israel Brand Manager and Digital Manager, says that “the media strategy was the highest possible reach and frequency, with a teaser video and then longer messages in 60, 30, and 15 second versions.” The campaign’s key to success, she says, “is a combination of strong public relations, aggressive advertising, and proper advance planning of the media.”

In second place, National Insurance Institute

The National Insurance Institute continues to surprise us with refreshing and thought-provoking videos, this time honoring the Israeli population of senior citizens. The creative vision demonstrates the transition from the individual to the collective, using empathy-inducing close ups that gradually expand to macro shots, conveying the notion that after all, we are all interconnected.

Michaela Cohen, National Insurance Institute Spokesperson, says that “the NII, which consults the government in social issues, considers the promotion of citizen rights alongside unequivocal social affirmations as highly important. There are over a million senior citizens, who had built this country, and they are worthy of our respect. In today’s public discourse, it is worthwhile to stop for a minute, to remember and appreciate them, and to strengthen the values of tolerance and solidarity.”

Tamar Kovenski, LAPAM Senior Client Manager, adds that “the creative challenge was showing people of old age in all their glory and not in their loneliness or weakness. It was important to find a creative solution that will reflect their lifetime achievements, and we did that with the campaign’s script and the special videography.”

In third place: Tapuchips

The famous Tapuchips crunch in a new limited edition, dedicated to super footballer Leo Messi. The new Wavy-series potato chip, which comes in a slick black bag adorned with Messi’s image, and which tastes, well, the same – goes splendidly well with watching a game of football.

In fourth place: McDonald’s Israel

McDonald’s Israel is celebrating its almost-30th anniversary, and for many of us who still remember the chain’s launch in Israel, it is also a reminder that our 30th anniversary was a pretty long time ago. As the actual 30th anniversary is still a few months away, the creative links the “almost 30” birthday with the price, and presents a meal for 29 NIS.

In fifth place: Ministry of Health

Beatbox artist Sagi Breitner was recruited to lead the Ministry of Health’s campaign aimed at young people suffering from allergies, raising awareness to the importance of carrying an adrenaline syringe. The excellent beat, the effective design with hundreds of ‘don’t forget your syringe’ notes, and especially Sagi’s strong performance – manage to effectively highlight the importance of the issue in case of life-threatening allergies.

YouTuber of the Month: Hen Mizrahi

If the name Hen Mizrahi rings a bell, you will know exactly who we mean when we say Hen in the Kitchen. The leading YouTuber is known to any cooking aficionado or anyone looking for a tasty recipe online, and of course to her 180k subscribers, who enjoy new and detailed recipes weekly.

Hen’s videos are accessible to everyone and include tips, tricks, and secrets for the perfect recipe. She demonstrates step by step how to make her and her family’s favorite dishes – homey recipes that will warm your heart.

Her YouTube success has also been translated into a successful recipe book that has already sold over 6,000 copies.

For the Shavu’ot Holiday, Hen teamed up with the Shimrit baking brand. In a detailed video she demonstrates how to make a most enticing pastry, focusing on the brand’s filo sheets. Mizrahi’s video and her demonstration of using the brand makes preparation seem so easy and accessible, that you feel like stopping everything, rolling up your sleeves, and just starting to bake!

Click here to get hungry

YouTube’s and Ynet’s ad chart is based on a global chart by Google and YouTube, which takes into account several criteria to determine the most creative ads. The rating includes only ads that were launched in Israel. Relevant criteria include weighted number of views, length of video watched, and organic views percentage

In collaboration with YouTube

BACK TO THE TOP