Every month, Campaign Middle East selects a collection of work to display in its monthly issue. The same selection then gets offered to industry professionals for their review in Campaign’s Private View section for the following month.
These are the picks for February – featuring work from WABA, Birkenstock, Al-Futtaim IKEA, Careem and UNHCR.
In the first 24 hours of its release, Shareet Studios’ Ramadan film for WABA racked up 1.5 million organic views – a figure that has now grown to 3.5 million, with over 140,000 shares and 260,000 likes. The reason for its standout performance? A celebration of Gulf culture in every frame. Through a series of visually stunning cuts, WABA’s showcase of the Arab design has reached the world, boosting brand awareness and reaching intended Ramadan targets before the Holy Month began.
Agency: Shareet Studios
Birkenstock – A Journey Through Tradition
This campaign movies beyond stereotypical seasonal advertising to a distinctive anchoring of Birkenstock’s presence in everyday rituals and journeys of Ramadan. Through still photography and a long-form documentary-style hero film, the campaign positions Birkenstock as a natural companion to Ramadan life. The brand collaborated with regional photographer, Moz, whose personal perspectives shaped the storytelling. His approach enhanced authenticity, grounded the campaign in lived experience, and allowed Birkenstock to integrate organically into cultural conversations rather than overt influencer marketing.
Creative agency: Havas Red and Havas Creative Production house: Good Stills
Al-Futtaim IKEA – Small Talk, Big Gestures
Building on its ‘Here To Be Part of Your Story‘ brand platform that places everyday family narratives at the heart of the campaign, this spot from Al-Futtaim IKEA spotlights the human qualities of big gatherings typically assosicated with Ramadan. Through a series of visuals, nuanced family dynamics and expressions of care are captured across the brand’s social channels to engage audiences where they are most active, facilitating shareable, emotional storytelling. The brand taps relevance, usefulness and authenticity to cut through the noise and go beyond a purchase and become a permanent function in the daily lives of consumers in the region.
Agency: Memac Ogilvy
This Ramadan, Careem launched ‘Seeds For Gaza’, a community-led donations campaign supporting on-ground humanitarian relief and long-term rebuilding efforts in Gaza during the Holy Month of Ramadan. Inspired by the Arabic language, within which a single dot can shift meaning, the campaign reimagines dots as watermelon seeds, a widely recognised symbol of Palestinian resilience. More than a visual gesture, the seeds embody continuity, hope and a collective commitment to rebuilding lives on the ground. Apart from an in-app ‘Donate’ option, every watermelon purchased on Careem Quik and every ‘Seeds For Gaza’ T-shirt sold contributes 100 per cent of profits to relief efforts.
In-house agency: Careem Creative Studio Production house: BigFoot Sound: MangoJam
UNHCR – Generous Hearts Find A Way
This campaign from UNHCR focuses on families affected by the global displacement crisis, showing how they continue to give despite profound loss. The work narrates generosity through the voices of displaced individuals in areas of crisis, a teacher, a mother and a child in areas of displacement share why they value giving. The multichannel campaign has been further amplified through UNHCR’s network of Goodwill Ambassadors. With the aim to provide hundreds of thousands of families who have been forcibly displaced with life-saving support, the campaign’s aim is to secure displaced individuals with safe shelter, emergency cash and access to basic essentials.
Production house: Atnafas
