1 Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives
Agency: MullenLowe MENA
This initiative put the iconic skyscraper’s 1.2 million lights up for sale to raise funds and provide meals for coronavirus-hit communities during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
2 KFC
Agency: TBWA/Raad
In March, to celebrate the freedom that comes with eating with your hands – and to emphasise that eating at KFC is always a fun and super-casual experience, KFC turned its menus, placemats, food bags, posters, flyers and even its cashier receipts into tissue napkins of different shapes and sizes. That was before lockdown, of course. By August the brand had put its ‘finger-lickin’’ slogan on hold due to Covid-19 fears.
3 VW Middle East
Kinetic
Agency: Crisp Productions
Volkswagen Middle East partnered with long-term UAE-based artist Maddy Butcher to create an artistic take on the new Volkswagen Brand. Butcher produced an energetic mural entitled Kinetic over three days. Then sections were cut away and made into 50 standalone artworks.
4 Mastercard
Agency: FP7 McCann Dubai
Leveraging a rare solar eclipse, prices on shopping site Noon were diminished with the sun. Since the eclipse reached 97 per cent, Mastercard holders also received 97 per cent off an array of pre-selected products. But only for the brief window of almost-total coverage. Once the sun started revealing itself again, so the prices increased as well, until the eclipse and the sale were over.
5 McDonald’s
Agency: Leo Burnett
McDonald’s Saudi Arabia created a novel new way to advertise its products during Ramadan without being disrespectful. It turned outdoor McDonald’s Drive-Thru screens into Ramadan Iftar Sand Clocks. Falling grains of sand slowly reveal the exact time customers can break their fast. The grains of sand come together to form a McDonald’s meal.
6 Lifebuoy
Agency: Geometry
In May, WPP creative commerce agency Geometry reintroduced its ‘Handle on Hygiene’ technology to provide retailers with the opportunity to implement a safe, customer-first response in the fight against the spread of Covid-19. The innovation was conceived in 2015 for Lifebuoy. It applies a thin layer of sanitiser liquid to any supermarket or store trolley handle – killing 99.9 per cent of germs – with one simple swipe.
7 Lush & Deliveroo
Agency: And Us
Soap brand Lush, in collaboration with Deliveroo, created a self-timing soap designed to completely dissolve after 30 seconds of vigorous use – precisely how long you are recommended to wash to make your hands clean and safe.
8 Pepsi
Soft drinks brand Pepsi launched its ‘My Homeland’ campaign for Saudi Arabia’s 90th National Day celebrations. The campaign included the release of a song celebrating the Kingdom’s achievements and values, and limited edition designed cans and packs. The song, entitled ‘My Homeland’, is performed by; Dalia Mubarak, Ayed and Sultan Alrasheed.
9 Visa
Where you Shop Matters
During Covid-19, Visa has taken a stance supporting small businesses within our communities, helping them build and grow. The movement is all about giving small businesses the space they need to showcase what they have to offer. Visa’s platform lets customers follow the journeys of some SMEs, discover their inspiration and learn more about their offerings.
10 VW
Agency: Socialize
Volkswagen decided to let its cars take a back seat in its latest digital video series, The Journey. The series aims to combat the unrelatable and inauthentic portrayal of ‘success stories’ by revealing the truth behind the road to greatness, through a series of candid, open interviews with company owners in Dubai. The Journey offers an unfiltered look into the lives of entrepreneurs. The campaign also featured a podcast produced by Amaeya Media.
11 Lebanese Army
Agency: TBWA/Raad
To celebrate its 75th anniversary,
The Lebanese Army introduced The PeaceCamo, a new camouflage pattern that portrays messages of peace and unity, inspired by everyday life. On August 1, soldiers marched the streets of the capital wearing illustrations of people embracing, kids playing, couples holding hands and generations coming together, taken from real-life moments in which the army has helped the people of Lebanon.
12 Bose
Agency: Wunderman Thompson
Work-from-home was standard operating procedure this year, but not all home offices are equally quiet. So Bose took a unique approach to offering savings on its newest noise-cancelling headphones: the louder your home office, the bigger your discount. Noise-O-Meter, developed by Wunderman Thompson Dubai and launched in the UAE, measures ambient noise levels and instantaneously converts the decibels into discount coupons.
13 Rakbank
Rakbank introduced ‘Memotraits’ (Memory + Portraits), transforming emotional data into abstract art with the help of an electroencephalography (EEG) headset. It invited unsuspecting FC Barcelona fans to participate in this unique social experiment, all documented in a video content piece. The participants were connected to an EEG headset that monitored human brainwaves and turned them into data as they watched FC Barcelona play in a football match. As the participants shared their memories, the headset captured three types of emotions: concentration, excitement and relaxation.
14 Snickers
Agency: Impact BBDO
To help people cope with their blunders – and to make sure they don’t happen again – Snickers launched Hunger Insurance, the only insurance that covers you for the mistakes you make when you’re hungry. Whether it’s something small like losing your keys or a bit more severe like forgetting an anniversary, as long as you can prove you were hungry at the time, you’ll receive a pay-out of free Snickers, minus a small excess, of course. To make a claim, people have to visit the website and speak to the Hunger Insurance chatbot, provide a few details of their hunger blunder and receive a coupon.
15 The Emirates Nation Brand Office
Agency: TBWA/Raad
Emirates Mars Mission and The Emirates Nation Brand Office collaborated with TBWA\Raad on the first Arabic countdown to blast-off of the Hope probe, kicked-off with an emotional manifesto film that addresses the pride in every citizen of the MENA region. The campaign celebrates “a new era for Arabs in space”, inviting people to share their #FirstArabicCountdown to the space mission.
16 Oppo
The campaign saw phone brand
Oppo work with content creator Emkwan, Emirati director Nayla Al Khaja, and photographer Jumana Jolie – to create a video series aimed at inspiring the people to continue pushing their boundaries of creativity, deliver content that reflects their potential and essentially strive for more. Oppo gained 920 million impressions through diverse media channels, with more than 10,000 followers interacting with the content.
17 TishTash
Agency: TishTash
In September the #TishTashThru event attracted more than 200 influencers and media to the Costa Coffee Drive-Thru on Al Wasl Road in Dubai for a Covid-friendly event. Fun, motivational messages greeted cars as they wound their way leisurely through the drive-thru, with brands represented by PR agency TishTash showcasing their seasonal launches, allowing attendees to get an exclusive but safe preview of new products and ventures from the comfort of their cars.
18 Lego
Agency: Havas
To celebrate Saudi Arabia’s National Day, on September 23 the front cover of Al Madina newspaper was completely recreated using Lego. The teams of Havas Middle East in Dubai and Riyadh collaborated in real-time to build, photograph, design and distribute the newspaper made with Lego to newsstands across Riyadh and Jeddah, all on the same day.
19 Oppo
TikTok #FameOpportunity
Global technology brand Oppo announced the winners of its TikTok #FameOPPOrtunity contest, following a successful six-day window for participants from across the MENA region to show off their talent. Three winners were selected based on the overall quality and creativity of their video submissions. #FameOPPOrtunity invited TikTok users to get creative with their own 15-second video to the Reno4 Series song using Oppo’s branded effect and specially created choreography.
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20 Unilever
Agency: Impact BBDO Dubai
This moving performance from Shehzad Roy on Pakistan’s Independence Day was a powerful and timely statement that aims to inspire Pakistanis to continue taking proper precautions against the spread of Covid-19 to eliminate the possibility of a second wave.
