Lebanon still suffers from bad infrastructure fundamentals like 24/7 electricity, clean water, and internet speed or even availability.Some lucky spots in the capital enjoy access to a manageable internet speed. Anywhere outside the city center is a lost cause.

In the age of multi-subscription streaming and online gaming, this is a problem. Why? Because NOTHING EVER LOADS. Which explains Lebanon’s special history with pirated DVDs that became a consumption habit. Especially because of how cheap they are.

One DVD = 1$.

This turned pirated DVDs into a commodity, like buying groceries from the supermarket. They are the antidote to slow internet.Internet users trust that DVDs will not fail them. They are guaranteed to watch content in its entirety, glitch-free.

Our shop’s name is a parody inspired by Lebanon’s small businesses who tend to call their shops “The King of Shawarma” or “The Emperor of Falafel”.

Our execution is a pop-up shop.

A fruit shop in one of Lebanon’s remote villages completely transformed into a typical DVD store, inspired by Lebanon’s fake DVD shops. But instead of selling movies and series, this DVD store sold… Internet content! From cat videos to compilations of the bestHarlem Shakes and Kardashian parodies. The store was packed with over 100 fake DVDs.

During the weekend of January 10-12, we anonymously inaugurated the store and invited market-goers to discover all the internet content they loved, but never watched more than 5 seconds of before it glitched.

To their surprise, the DVDs weren’t for sale but actual giveaway coupons promising functioning internet ‘wherever you are’ to view all the viral content and so much more. All they had to do was present the DVD at Connect P.O.S. to get a wireless broadband installed for free and 20% off their first month.