Exotica as part of our collective memory

I am part of the generation that remembers Exotica, not as a florist, not as a wedding supplier, not as a landscaper, not as an advertiser, but more as a part our collective memory. I am talking of a different Exotica naturally, specifically an image frozen in time, the one above.

Which lead me to the one below taken from the packshot of the ad in question.

Exotica - part of the art series "Lebanon's History Book" by Tarek Chemaly

Exotica "plante la joie" and yes, there was even an equivalent in Arabic "tazra3 a sa3ada".... It was in the middle of war, and that ad, with that woman in a moulant dress, with no face, but with sensuality to make every television screen explode would come to us, planting joy (as the slogan says) in dire times.

For those of you who want to see the full film for the first time, or remember it from days gone by, here it is for your pleasure!