Ceylon Tea was very satisfied with the outcome of its participation in the Ideal Home Exhibitions that were being held around the Middle East; to the extent that it made these exhibitions an integral part of its annual promotional program. In 1974, the Ideal Home Exhibition was held at the Kuwait Hilton, and I accompanied Ranjan Perera, the Ceylon Tea commissioner, to help him run the Ceylon Tea Board stall. Ranjan, who reached Kuwait a day before my arrival, looked happier than usual. He couldn’t wait for me to check in and for him to whisper that alcoholic drinks could be ordered through room service at our hotel. Kuwait had always been a dry country, but like most Sri Lankans, Ranjan loved his evening Scotch, and had been tipped off about this hushed service by one of his countrymen, who was staying at the same hotel.
The Ceylon Tea stall was located next to the S.C. Johnson (Johnson Wax) stall, and we instantly hit it off with Mokhtar El Agili, the Moroccan regional director for the MENA region. Soon we found out that Mokhtar was stationed in Lebanon and his office was located on Spears Street, which was not very far from the Ceylon Tea Board’s office in the Eldorado building.
The exhibition was consistently crowded, but Ranjan and I made it a point to have all our meals in the company of Mokhtar, whom we found to be very pleasant and entertaining. While at the stall, Mokhtar had no help, and seemed to be continuously observing the teamwork that made the Ceylon Tea stall one of the most popular with exhibition visitors. But whenever the number of visitors at the Johnson Wax stall turned into a crowd, particularly since many families dropped in to ask for free samples, I quickly rushed to help Mokhtar and, by doing so, I became familiar with their wide range of products. Before this experience, I had known the brand for making Glade, the furniture polish which we used at home. But in Kuwait, I was introduced to Pledge, Raid, Pride and Mr. Muscle, at a time when Mokhtar kept saying that they had many other products too.
On returning to Lebanon, Ranjan instantly agreed to my suggestion that we should pay Mokhtar a visit at his office. We called, only to find out that Mokhtar was still out of town.
Finally, he returned from Saudi Arabia, where he had travelled after Kuwait, and warmly welcomed a meeting. However, one day prior to our appointment, Ranjan had to travel urgently. So, I went alone to Spears Street – the street that I had always referred to as The Lebanese Red Cross street, since the headquarters of the Red Cross in Beirut faced the building that housed Mokhtar’s office. This was one of Beirut’s old buildings and it had a majestic entrance leading to a flight of stairs, since it was built before elevators were introduced. I climbed the stairs to the third floor, to be received by a young French-speaking Lebanese receptionist who asked me to wait, as Mokhtar was on a long-distance call. The interior of this residential-floor-turned-office was very charming, with golden gypsum patterns that adorned the ceiling. The colorful mosaic tiles and the oil-painted walls were decorated with framed product photos.
Mokhtar warmly welcomed me and by doing so woke me up from my nostalgic visual inspection of the building. We moved to his room, which had a bulky wooden desk that seemed to be placed there by the previous tenant. However, everything else in the room was definitely Mokhtar’s: framed university degrees, photographs of company conventions, Moroccan artefacts and a bookshelf filled with marketing books. As if not wanting to waste a moment with the usual Arab courtesies, Mokhtar, who seemed to have been much influenced by his European education and American company environment, immediately embarked on a lengthy frank interrogation, wanting to know me better and the advertising agency to which I belonged. He was candid and direct, starting our dialogue by explaining that our incidental meeting in Kuwait was very timely as he had just started a search for an ad agency to partner with. In the same honest tone, he admitted that he was greatly impressed with the many signs of dynamic partnership between the Ceylon Tea Board and Intermarkets, which he witnessed firsthand at the Ideal Home Exhibition in Kuwait. Then, because he was keen to appoint an advertising agency that had the endorsement of all his agents, he told me that he had asked his Saudi agent, Basamah, if he knew Intermarkets. The answer he received made Mokhtar even more anxious to meet me upon his return to Beirut. Basamah said that, on his own brands, he worked with another well-known Lebanese agency. However, for the past year he had been seeing – in the Saudi dailies – many ads for Westinghouse and Toyota, which led him to summon his current agency and tell them that if they did not shape up creatively, he would call Intermarkets and hand them his business. Mokhtar wanted to see these ads, which I arranged to send him the next day.
Our meeting went on for around two hours and concluded with my host requesting a visit to Intermarkets at the earliest convenience, during which he wanted to meet all the people who would be working on the Johnson Wax portfolio if he were to award the agency the business. After a week, Mokhtar paid a visit to our office, where Erwin Guerrovich and Nahi Ghorayeb personally welcomed him in French – his language of preference – and took him on an extended tour of the agency. Then, as we all settled in the conference room, they introduced him to a French-speaking support team, who would help me handle his business. This was a very pleasant meeting that spread a buzz of positive and joyful anticipation throughout the agency.
Mokhtar’s decision was quick. Within two days of his visit, we received an appointment letter entrusting Intermarkets with the entire Johnson Wax product range across all markets in the Middle East and Africa. I spent that day floating on the fragrance of Glade, since this was the first international account I had captured single-handedly.
After a few months, Raymond Accad, the group account director on Gillette, and I were called into a meeting with the big boss, Erwin Guerrovich. Bill Smallman, the Gillette executive who had shared my shower in Jeddah during the Hajj, was visiting Jordan and wanted to introduce their agent in Amman to Intermarkets, as he wanted us to handle Gillette’s advertising in that market too. Erwin explained that Raymond Accad’s passport was under renewal in Cairo. As had become the habit, I was asked to replace Accad on this trip, and I welcomed the opportunity, as this was my first visit to Jordan. After checking in at the InterContinental Jordan, I met Bill Smallman at the coffee shop, and we spent the evening laughing at the memories of our forced stay in Jeddah during the crowded Hajj season.
The next day, a Mercedes car was waiting to take us to the Dajani Drug Stores in Shmeisani, where the owner, Akef Dajani, and his wife were awaiting our arrival. A charming couple in their late 50s, they were working together to manage one of the leading distributors of pharmaceuticals and toiletries in Jordan. In addition to Gillette and Kolynos, their portfolio included many other international brands. Bill Smallman knew the Dajani family well and told me that all at Gillette revered the head of the family, Abou Nader, with the highest level of respect. Mrs. Dajani (Emm Nader as they called her in Jordan) was the right hand of her husband in dealings with global principals. The Dajanis had two sons – Nader, who ran his own trading business focused on Iraq, and Bassem, who was studying in Canada.
After concluding their own Gillette business and confirming new orders, the time came to introduce Intermarkets. Bill gave his own introduction, which was very flattering, and then I was invited to present the formal agency credentials. At the end of my introduction, I made a quick reference to some of our recent achievements, including the win of SC Johnson. The moment I mentioned this company’s name, Emm Nader jumped out of her seat and asked me to introduce Dajani Drug Stores to Johnson Wax. Less than a month later, I flew to Amman in the company of Mokhtar El Agili for his first meeting with the Dajanis, which was soon followed by their appointment. This fast action secured me the additional title of Intermarkets’ expert on Jordan, and this later led to our partnership with the Dajanis for the establishment of Intermarkets Jordan.