We call this ‘one of the best’ commercials this Ramadan, as we quickly realized no one at working at Enterprise can tolerate watching Egyptian television long enough to have a complete picture of all the commercials released this season for us to be able to definitively state that something is or is not the best. We have, however, seen the more notable commercials this year: the mandatory 500 Egyptian celebrities per second Vodafone ad, the Juhayna ads of course — so we have a reasonable handle on what’s been put out there.

One of JWT Cairo’s ads for Hayat Alex Park compound this year strikes us as particularly noteworthy for praise. The commercial’s beleaguered protagonist, Dina, is taken out to a family iftar to help cheer her up after having received poor grades on her exams.

The sometimes stifling claustrophobia of Egyptian family life is on full display here, as one’s Egyptian family trying to cheer them up can often be the most excruciatingly painful (albeit well-intentioned) experiences one can go through in life. Dina’s mother casually threatening to marry her off to her slob of what we presume is her first cousin, to all the other incredibly “helpful” comments her family gives her, all serves to only amplify her anxieties about her future. Her attention drifts until their words blend in with the background music, whose lyrics may or may not be distorted by her thoughts of her future. (Watch in Arabic or Watch in Arabic with English subtitles, running time: 1:03)