2010 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

This campaign celebrates the very thing that draws people to the UAE from all over the world: Ambition. It was designed to unify ADCB’s marketing efforts, and to enhance preference for the brand. Since its introduction, it has transformed the bank into a leader that champions the spirit of ambition throughout the UAE. In a time when banks were slashing budgets, ADCB saw opportunity to stay true to the concept of ambition with this campaign. As a result, they unapologetically launched the work to be a resonant voice in the midst of the worst global recession in 80 years. In the campaign’s launch execution, a red flag is planted in the UAE desert landscape. The flag features the campaign’s tagline, “Long Live Ambition” written in Arabic. An accompanying manifesto celebrates the power of ambition, and establishes the campaign. The flag and its design are recurring graphic elements throughout the work.

Success of the Campaign

The campaign served as a rallying cry for the people of the UAE, reaching over 80% of the population – and after only two months in market, had achieved impressive levels of message resonance and recognition. Two weeks following launch, ADCB’s stock price jumped nearly 40%, and six months later, 40% of customers linked ADCB to the campaign idea of Long Live Ambition. Today the effort lives on, extending to digital, rewards, product designs like Ambition Loan, and to ADCB sponsorships, such as the Emirates Women of the Year Ambition Award.

Describe how the campaign/entry was launched and executed across each channel in the order of implementation.

Long Live Ambition launched with an integrated above-the-line presence in outdoor, print, and interactive – and with consistent below-the-line materials in branches and collateral. On the day of the launch, a double page spread with the campaign’s manifesto appeared in prominent UAE publications. Eleven additional executions rotated through major UAE newspapers and magazines, further extending the message. To enhance campaign recognition, a ubiquitous outdoor presence appeared along major roads within Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as a domination of nearly every outdoor board on the 120 km road between the two cities—with thirteen different creative executions spanning the various placements. To complete the effort, Web banners drove traffic to the new micro-site, longliveambition.com, as well as to a re-skinned adcb.com. The campaign was also extended to ADCB branch locations and ATMs.