Beirut, Lebanon, June 23, 2019 – This week, Lebanon celebrated Father’s Day, paying heed to fathers and the paternal bonds they share with their families and children. In Lebanon, where patriarchal legacy has long tied a father’s pride and lineage into his son’s name, this occasion traditionally followed suit, in spirit as much as in celebration.
This Father’s Day, Galler Chocolatier Beirut decided to challenge the male-dominated roles, rules and labels of fatherhood in Lebanon. On June 15, the premium Belgian chocolate boutique launched its campaign, “#be7mol2esma” (“I carry her name”), in celebration and in the name of the father-daughter bond.
The campaign was mobilized on social media, carrying the headline: “The Sweetest Piece of My Heart…has your name on it”; an open call for fathers, on their special day, to celebrate their pride in their daughters as they and their communities traditionally had with their sons, in the simplest of forms: their daughters’ names.
On this occasion, Galler invited fathers to join their “Abou” (“The father of”) prefix, one that they had, by force of habit, long associated with their sons, to their daughter’s name. In colloquial Lebanese slang, the “Abou” label carries a symbolic significance; it is a stamp of fatherhood pride that is often, if not always, reserved to the sons of the family.
Galler’s “#be7mol2esma” movement reversed this tradition with its own bespoke pieces for the occasion, its finest chocolate collections wrapped in the names of the daughters behind the proud ‘Abous’ of Lebanon. At the chocolatier’s luxury boutique branch, fathers and daughters were also invited to custom-name and design their pieces.
Commenting on the campaign, Ghada Naim, Business Development Director at Galler Chocolatier, said:
“Since Galler was first established, our modern-generation philosophy has sought to defy the norm. And it is a philosophy that transcends our spaces, our palate and our designs. On Father’s Day, we’re defying convention once again with the ‘#be7mol2esma’ movement, an open invite for fathers in Lebanon to name their fatherhood pride after their daughters, and not without reason.
More so in Lebanon, a country that has survived and thrived through so much, girls and women have played a central role in shaping and leading the men in their lives. They are the backbone of our society and country as we know it today. But they are rarely, if at all, recognized for this legacy.
We wanted to give every proud father who shared this sentiment a platform to show it in the sweetest and simplest way.”
Described by chocoholics around the world as ‘divine’, ‘stunning’, and ‘breath-taking’, Galler combines fresh pure Belgium chocolate, all-natural syrup-free ingredients, and a focus on flawless technical execution combined with elegant packaging.