2012 Winners & Shortlists

Results and Effectiveness

Within 48 hrs, amateur footage:200,000 YouTube hits The official edit of the event created a viral sensation. 250,000 likes on Facebook. Picked up on 100’s of blogs, resulted in 1000's of tweets. Featured on the News and TV talk shows. Was written about in the world press. Aired for free on all MEA flights. BDF sales increased by 10% (tourism was down in Lebanon by 8%). An incredible achievement in such a climate. it showed the world that Lebanon is a country that celebrates a love for life no matter what, giving everyone the chance to really take back more.

Creative Execution

Our solution was to create one more great memory of Lebanon for travelers to enjoy before they leave, extending the vibrancy and spirit of the country into the Duty Free area and giving people one last happy experience to take back home. We did this by creating a live event in the airport’s Duty Free using a traditional Lebanese dance (Dabké), a dance famous for its joyful nature and one that brings people together. On the day of the event, 100’s of travelers joined the dance, with many documenting the event on their phones which were then uploaded onto the internet. To build on this wave of activity we created an official edit of the event which we then also released onto the internet as a viral film.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Beirut Duty Free wanted to create a campaign to counter the fact that leaving Lebanon is often very emotional and doesn’t always create the perfect mood for people to purchase anything at the Duty Free.