Publicite Universelle was an agency founded in 1952 by a journalist called Philippe Hitti, who had partnered with a businessman by the name of Elie Nawar. The agency was located on the fourth floor of Al Awkaf Al Islamyah Building on Saint Vincent de Paul Street, which was off Sheikh Bechara Avenue. I arrived early at the address, as I was not very sure of the location, and went up in the old cage-type lift to be received by an accountant, as none of the two managing partners had arrived yet. This gentleman seemed to have known that I was coming in and wanted to keep me company, since I was the nephew of one of the agency’s key clients. His chat, however, was not welcoming at all, as he kept asking me why I was not spending my internship at the more dynamic Baroody Brothers & Company.
At around nine, Elie Nawar, the managing partner responsible for the finances of the agency, arrived and immediately called me into his office, where I was met with what sounded like a prepared message in praise of my uncle, Emile Baroody, which then turned into a sermon on the hidden miseries of the advertising profession. Elie explained that if I went into advertising I would constantly be at the mercy of the changing moods of clients, who in most cases were stingy and slow payers. He concluded his speech with the sincere advice that I better get back to my uncle, ask to be accepted into his own company, or ask him to arrange employment for me with one of the banks they dealt with. This would be more prestigious and the pay much higher than in advertising. By the time Philippe Hitti, Publicite Universelle’s founder and co-managing partner, arrived I was about to overcome my hesitation of standing up and running away.
Contrary to the other people at Publicite Universelle, Philippe Hitti was the person who seemed to be an experienced, suave businessman, with an always smiling face and a timid low voice that required close attention to be comprehended. Monsieur Philippe, as everyone called him, spent the time telling me about the relationship he had groomed with my uncle and how impressed he was with the advertising history of Baroody Brothers & Company. Philippe’s description of what I should expect if I pursued a career in advertising was very exciting[1]. In fact, it was the opposite of what I had heard from his partner and the chief accountant. Later, I came to understand that Elie Nawar did not want any person related to one of their clients employed at the agency, since this posed the risk of compromising the secrets of how their profit margins were made.
Unlike the rest of the agency, Philippe Hitti’s office had a classy warm look, which was the result of the light mat brown wood that clad all its walls, and from which the large desk, as well as the glass book shelves, were made. Over the next two years, I spent more time in that room than in all the classrooms of the Humanities Building at AUB, where most of the courses I was taking were lectured.
Publicite Universelle had flourished more on its media concessions, rather than on its classical advertising business. Cinema advertising represented a good chunk of the Lebanese advertising market at the time. Publicite Universelle was in control of around 50% of the cinema screens all over the country and Georges Feghali was responsible for that. Obviously, the bulk of this business was in Beirut, as Publicite Universelle was in control of the Mahmoud Mamish Cinema Circuit, which included the Piccadilly, Saroulla, Strand and Edison theatres, all of which were in the Ras Beirut area. But in addition, the agency was in control of all the cinemas in Zahlé, too. This meant that Publicite Universelle would have committed to the owners of these cinemas a minimum guarantee of advertising revenue higher than any other media re-seller. Any advertiser or advertising agency that wanted to advertise on these screens had to book via Publicite Universelle and pay them for that.
The other cinemas in Lebanon were controlled by an advertising agency called SNIP, which was owned by Chafic Hadaya and Fayez Sultan. SNIP was located at the Rivoli Cinema building on Martyrs’ Square and was in control of the Empire Cinema Circuit. The competition between these two agencies was advertising rate driven and was tough.
Publicite Universelle, where I was about to start my internship/part-time employment, and SNIP were in the middle league of the Lebanese advertising agency scene, which at that time was beginning to become crowded.
[1] صناعة الإعلان – فيليب يوسف الحتّي – صفحة ٢٣٥ / Book « Advertising Industry » – Philippe Youssef Hitti – Page 235