As Jordan prepares to enter the FIFA World Cup for the first time in the country’s history, Jordanian telecom brand Umniah has launched ‘Darb Al Asateer‘ – The Journey of Legends – a large-scale musical production bringing together legendary and emerging Jordanian voices in what the brand describes as a tribute to the country’s underdog spirit.
Brought to life by creative agency Adpro& Group with music production by Scarab Records, Nasir AlBashir and Farah Hourani, and film production by Moonstone Productions, the campaign was rolled out across TV, outdoor and social media, including through influencer collaborations.
The song promo, which hit 7.8 million views in four days, is a teaser to the anthem that blends orchestral arrangements, modern football chant energy and traditional Jordanian musical influences, while using artificial intelligence to revive the voice of the late Miteb Al-Saggar, one of Jordan’s most celebrated folkloric singers.
Rather than using AI as a production shortcut, the teams behind the project say the technology was approached with cultural sensitivity and purpose.
Archived interviews, recordings, and decades of musical material were used to train a custom model capable of recreating Al-Saggar’s voice for the anthem.
For Dina Aldaoud, Chief Marketing Officer at Umniah, the campaign was about reflecting a national mood larger than football itself.
Aldaoud said, “Jordan qualifying for the World Cup is a historic moment that was always going to be remembered. The question for us was how Umniah could contribute something meaningful to that memory. We did not want to create a campaign that would be relevant for a few weeks and then disappear.”
She added, “We wanted to create something people would genuinely connect with and continue to love long after this moment has passed. As storytellers, we are always looking for ways to create deeper emotional connections. Darb Al Asateer became our way of telling a story about pride, belonging, and the people who helped shape this moment, while giving Jordanians something they can truly call their own.”
The production was led musically by Nasir AlBashir, founder of Scarab Records, who said balancing heritage with modernity became one of the project’s defining creative tensions.
“The responsibility was enormous because these voices carry history and emotion for people,” AlBashir explained. “From the beginning, we knew this couldn’t feel overly polished or artificial. The goal was to create something cinematic and contemporary while still preserving the rawness and soul of Jordanian music. Every instrument, every vocal layer, every transition had to earn its place.”
According to the creative team, the anthem intentionally avoids framing Jordan’s story through victory alone, instead leaning into the country’s longstanding identification with perseverance and ambition against the odds.
Rami Qaddoumi, Creative Director at Adpro& Group, said the project was designed to feel culturally rooted rather than commercially manufactured.
Qaddoumi explained, “There’s a reason people connect emotionally to underdog stories,” Soliman said. “Jordan has always been a country that pushes forward despite limitations, despite obstacles, despite expectations. We felt that same spirit in the national team’s journey. The role of creativity here wasn’t to dramatise that emotion, but to channel it honestly through music, storytelling, and craft.”
The anthem was brought to screen by Director Farid Malki, whose visual interpretation sought to balance the scale of a national moment with the intimacy of personal ambition.
Rather than focusing solely on football, the film captures the determination, spirit, and resilience that sit at the heart of Jordan’s underdog story, weaving together imagery that reflects both the nation’s heritage and its future aspirations.
The campaign arrives at a time when many brands globally are experimenting with generative AI tools, often sparking industry conversations around authenticity, ownership, and creative value. For the agency and client teams involved, the technology itself was never intended to be the headline.
“AI became meaningful only because it served a human story,” said Nicola Sabanegh, Client Servicing Director at Adpro& Group. “Without the cultural context, emotional intent, and trust between everyone involved, it would’ve just been another experiment. What made this project special was the collective care behind it.”
While rooted in nostalgia and national pride, the teams behind Darb Al Asateer insist the anthem was never intended as a retrospective piece.
Instead, they describe it as a bridge between generations.
A celebration not only of the legends who paved the road, but of the young Jordanians now continuing that journey forward, on football pitches, in music studios, in businesses, and far beyond the World Cup itself.
CREDITS:
Client: Umniah
Creative agency: Adpro& Group
Music production: Scarab Records, Nasir AlBashir and Farah Hourani
Film production: Moonstone Productions
Director: Farid Malki
