INSITE OOH Media Platform

The first time we saw ZAK on OOH was in 2019, around AFCON, a tournament most Egyptians watch closely. The campaign featured football player Hazem Emam, with a message addressing Egyptian football fans directly: "The Official Egyptian Fans Perfume," paired with another statement, "Awel Parfan Fe Can" (The First Perfume In a Can). "Parfan" is how Egyptians actually pronounce perfume, a small choice that sent a clear signal: we're closer to you than the others.

The campaign made quite an impression, one that reflected on ZAK's shelf sales, and the brand hasn't left our sight in supermarkets since. However, choosing Hazem Emam raised real questions about brand positioning. The footballer's appeal skews more toward millennials than Gen Z, and his personal brand carries a premium weight that never quite matched "Awel Parfan Fe Can,” a tagline built for a closer-to-the-streets, more affordable positioning. For a brand's first-ever OOH appearance, that mismatch was one that would stick, and it likely wasn't the perfect choice.

Fortunately, this time ZAK found the perfect fit with the perfect message, and the positioning is now clear and coherent across every single element. Aly Mazhar, athlete, entrepreneur, and a bold, determined, modern Egyptian figure, brings exactly what the brand needs. First of all, he carries a genuine following among Gen Zers, the generation forming most of the buying power in 2026. His personal brand speaks to a successful, modern Egyptian persona, one young people look up to and aspire toward, and it's a persona that can actually carry the promise: "Perfume Bgad Msh Shabah Had" (Real Perfume, Unlike Anyone), a message that taps directly into the need for individuality so prominent among Gen Zers.

Being unmistakably Egyptian, ZAK positions this campaign as the perfume of the modern Egyptian man, and with that bold statement, it clearly differentiates itself from the competition, brilliantly sidestepping the "cheap local alternative" trap most homegrown brands fall into.

The timing sharpens all of it further. Egypt just closed out its first-ever World Cup Round of 16 run: a 2-0 lead over defending champions Argentina, erased in the final eleven minutes for a heartbreaking 3-2 loss. But the pride that followed wasn't about the scoreline; it was about proving Egypt belonged on that stage at all. In that atmosphere, an Egyptian brand willing to make a bold statement like this one has every reason to land with real support and appeal.

Two ambassadors, two campaigns, two completely different outcomes in positioning. This is exactly why choosing a brand ambassador, or even just a face for a single campaign, can make or break everything you're trying to say. There's a real lesson here in ZAK's choice of Aly Mazhar for 2026.

Check out Monitoring Out of Home (MOOH), a specialist media intelligence agency and analysis system active in Cairo and Dubai, to learn more about this campaign.