The Arabic Affair

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IHRB’s misleading and unlawful ads sound just as dubious in Arabic. Below is a copy of one of the older Arabic ads that appeared in ‘El Telegraph’ — a popular Australian newspaper that was established in 1970, and published three times each week (now boasting a print-run exceeding 20,000 copies per issue).

In the early days (around 2006 to 2008) IHRB’s ads in ‘El Telegraph’ were almost always positioned on page nine, and on a Friday — every two weeks. Reaching Arabic readers was an example of how Sam Cohen tries to reach any community whose members are afflicted with hair-loss. While some cultures hold moustaches in high regard, I do not know of any (outside of monasteries) where baldness is the preferred option. No matter the nationality or the language, sufferers of hair-loss tend to go to great lengths to restore their youthful appearance. When they read convincing and confident ads like these from IHRB, sufferers beg or borrow money to make Sam Cohen a richer man, in the hope that he might be able to deliver on his promise. Alas, that’s impossible — unless the client is prepared to surrender completely to Sam Cohen’s risky, non-approved, dangerous medications.

These ads by the Institute of Hair Regrowth & Beauty were Sanctioned in 2008, and the representations they make was once again Sanctioned in November 2011.

An ad in Arabic reaches people who might have come from 25 countries and dozens of cities across the Middle East and Africa. This means that these ads in ‘El Telegraph’ had the potential to reach Australians who had come from: Algeria; Bahrain; Chad; Comoros; Djibouti; Egypt; Eritrea; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Libya; Mauritania; Morocco; Oman; Palestinian territories; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Sudan; Syria; Tanzania; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates (comprising Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain); and Yemen.