An advertisement for a Cairo restaurant, in which the statue of the late leader Saad Zaghloul is shown carrying "Qurtas Tamiya (Falafel)", sparked a great controversy, and the Wafd Party considered it an insult and an insult to its founder and its historical leader, and threatened to sue the owner of the restaurant before the latter apologized and deleted the advertisement.
While some supported the leaders of the Wafd Party in their angry statements, others saw that the delegation was confiscating the freedom of expression that a party that raises the slogan of liberalism is supposed to adopt, especially since the propaganda was for an authentic Egyptian folk food that most Egyptians had almost no breakfast tables for.
The advertisement brought back to mind many products that exploited the names and pictures of Egyptian leaders and politicians in propaganda, and were accepted without sensitivity, unlike what some see as an attempt to consider politicians "sacred taboos" that should not be touched.
King Farouk agreed to give his name to the soap "to encourage the national industry" (communication sites)
Saad Zaghloul, the leader of the soap
It is ironic that the name Saad Zaghloul was a prominent symbol in the advertising of some products in the past, as the Boutros Gerges Dabbas soap factories in Alexandria produced a type of olive oil soap called Nabulsi Saad Zaghloul, with the permission of the late leader, according to the company's propaganda.
The company exploited the image of Saad Zaghloul and his most famous title "leader of the nation" in advertising for the new soap, which it described as "the leader of soap."
The matter was not limited to exploiting the name of the late leader, but was extended to the name of his wife Safia Zaghloul, as Shabrawishi Perfumes Company produced a new perfume called "The Scent of Safia Zaghloul", and his propaganda bore her name as well, in which the famous singer Umm Kulthum participated in the slogan "To be a witch." Use the scent Safia Zaghloul.
A specific date is not known for the beginning of the exploitation of the names and pictures of rulers and politicians in propaganda and advertising in Egypt, but the development of printing and the spread of newspapers in the first decades of the twentieth century contributed to its spread significantly, to continue until today and transform in many of its stages from propaganda to flattering the ruler and declaring loyalty to him.
"The King's Toffee and the Princess Caramel" was a form of propaganda in 1938 (communication sites)
In December 1932, the image of King Fouad I (the ruler of Egypt from 1917 to 1936) appeared on an innovative promotional message printed by the Tarabish merchant Abd al-Hamid Ahmed "Tarabishi, the Egyptian Renaissance", on the occasion of Ramadan in 1351 AH.
The merchant took advantage of the image of the king of Egypt with his famous fez, and put it on the cover of the Imsakiah, which he included in the prices of the tarabish that he produces, along with some propaganda words such as "O nation of tarabish, enjoy and wear, and from the manufacture of your country you decorate and get covered."
Toffee, caramel and perfume
After the death of King Fouad, the propaganda compass turned to his new son, Farouk, and there were many products that were exploiting his image and name.
In 1938, Nestlé took advantage of the first marriage of King Farouk with Queen Farida, and announced the production of a type of chocolate bearing the king's drawing, along with another type in the form of a 10-penny coin bearing Farouk's image.
In turn, the Roussos sweets factories took advantage of this occasion, and announced the production of "Toufi Farouk I and Princess Caramel", and put on the cover of their products the pictures of Farouk and Farida.
Just as Shabrawishi factories produced the perfume Safia Zaghloul, they took advantage of the great popularity enjoyed by the king's wife to produce a new perfume bearing the name of "Queen of Egypt", whose bottles adorn a unique image and the royal crown.
The king of soap
The most famous product that used the name of King Farouk in publicity, and associated with his name for long periods of time was the soap "Nabulsi Farouk" produced by the factories of Muhammad Ahmad Shaheen Effendi.
The company sought with the king to obtain permission to produce a new type of Nabulsi soap bearing his name, and the king agreed to that "in order to encourage national industry" as stated in the approval letter issued by the private royal glasses, and the company used it in its various advertisements.
The Nabulsi Farouk soap advertisement was based mainly on its association with the name of the king, and this feature was presented on other product specifications, so we find Umm Kulthum inviting the public in one of the advertisements to use Nabulsi Farouk because he is "an Egyptian with the most generous names."
In his propaganda, Shaheen went beyond the use of artists to exploit senior politicians and rulers during that period, the most famous of whom was the leader of the historical delegation, Mustafa Al-Nahhas Pasha, Prime Minister of Egypt for five times and the Speaker of the National Assembly, as his picture appeared on a propaganda leaflet bearing the phrase "the great president encourages the use of Nabulsi Farouk soap." ".
Other propaganda for the company also included expressions encouraging the use of Nabulsi Farouk, written by the prime ministers of Egypt, Ali Maher and Ismail Sidqi, the prominent minister and politician of the delegation, Makram Ebeid, the former foreign minister, Hafez Afifi, and the uncle of King Sherif Sabri and others.
Shabrawishi perfumes took advantage of the popularity of Safia Zaghloul and Queen Farida in advertising (communication sites)
After the army overthrew the king in 1952, the soap-producing company quickly disavowed the name Farouk after years of exploiting it, and decided to "follow the example of the army, motivated by patriotism, to slander the name of Farouk," and change the name of the producer to "Nabulsi Shaheen," according to what was stated in its propaganda during that period.
Al-Bustani’s cigarettes factories followed in the same footsteps, which produced during the royal era a brand of cigarettes called “the King of Egypt” and described it as “the greatest miracle of the company.” But as soon as the king was overthrown, and the republic was declared in 1953, the company transferred its link to President Mohamed Naguib. And she announced the new type of cigarettes as "President's cigarettes".
Propaganda based on the exploitation of the king's name and the rulers and politics during his reign passed to the new rulers, and the name and pictures of President Muhammad Naguib became the focus of the new propaganda.
Instead of Mustafa Al-Nahhas Pasha’s pictures and the phrase “Long Live the King, Long Live the Delegation,” which was used by “Camel Jewelry” on her promotional souvenir medals, the image of Muhammad Najib and the slogan of the Union, Order and Work became the alternative.
The matter did not stop at that time with the Egyptian personalities. In 1954, Al-Shabrawishi Company took advantage of King Saud’s visit to Egypt and announced the production of a perfume named "The Scent of His Beloved King Saud."
The Mansheya incident in October 1954, and the "assassination attempt" of Abdel Nasser with 8 stray bullets, as announced at the time, was an opportunity for some companies to advertise their products, so Abu Al-Ezz's (pharmacies) announced that they would give a gift to any mother who named her child Gamal Abdel Nasser. "Fabriqa Kamel Shoes" announced a "sacrifice", and the sale of 5,000 shoes at a price of 100 piasters to celebrate Nasser's safety.
Exploitation of the image and name of the late leader Saad Zaghloul in advertising for Nabulsi soap (communication sites)
In Cohen's footsteps
Thus, in the manner of the popular proverb "Cohen mourns his son and fixes hours", businessmen and owners of companies and shops and various service providers walked from the monarchy until today.
Any personal occasion for the ruler or the memory of a national event became an opportunity to spread a torrent of announcements of congratulations and support, to associate the image of the ruler with the propagandist and his products, and the matter became an opportunity for propaganda and on the other hand an occasion to flatter the ruler and declare loyalty to him.