2012 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

In September, the Royal Opera House launched its first season, creating the only regional venue for classical music, opera and ballet. The campaign task was to introduce opera to Oman and the world. The challenge was twofold - establish the opera without being elitist and resonate with local audiences who didn’t have much exposure to opera. However, the region has a strong storytelling culture. Here was our connection point: the stories of operas and ballets are universal, portraying emotions such as love, hate, betrayal, jealousy or loyalty that we can all relate to. We picked 3 stories: Turandot, about a cold-hearted Chinese princess and the prince who seeks to win her heart. Swan Lake, where Odette, a princess is turned into a swan and a prince tries to save her. Carmen, about a beautiful gypsy with a fiery temper who drives her lover into murderous jealousy.

Success of the Campaign

The launch was an unparallelled success with performances fully booked months ahead, and extensive international, local and social media coverage.The campaign successfully engaged the local population with 90% of sales coming from Omanis. It put Oman on the global map as it was selected both by Lonely Planet and National Geographic in the Top Places to visit in 2012. The Facebook page was used by people to talk about their love for the ads and opera. After visiting the opera, Michael Kaiser, art critic for the Huffington Post wrote: "Such an experience reminds me that there is truly no Eastern art or Western art or Asian art, etc. There is only art. And great art has the power to move us because great artists speak to us no matter what the language."

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

In the TVC, the characters took life in famous landmarks of Muscat. As the stories took flesh in the city's daily settings, it made them more accessible. It positioned the opera as the destination to experience these powerful emotions that only art makes us feel ; a place "Where the extraordinary happens". Even the print and radio, took people on a poetic journey through each story. A coffee table book was also designed to celebrate this journey.