2012 Winners & Shortlists

Execution

Lebanese Brew is an underdog brand launched in May 2011 challenging the status quo, and Lebanon’s one and only other local beer. Being of better quality and with a limited budget, from the start the brand depended on brave unbounded thinking and peoples’ support through social media in order to succeed; hence the brand value ‘courage is contagious’. When it came to making an outdoor impact on the streets of Beirut, we were left with very little options given the high-priced nature of the outdoor media landscape in Lebanon. We needed outdoor exposure but could not afford to rent out media space. Beirut had recently witnessed a rise in the street art scene, and that presented us with the right opportunity to create a rather odd but effective outdoor installation. We turned to one of Beirut most notorious graffiti artists to help us create Beirut’s largest Graffiti ever, a 50-meter stencil at one of the main exits of the city. The imposing message “Courage is Contagious” had a heavy impact, as it was stenciled at a time when the Arab Spring Revolution was coming about. It was a calling for the Lebanese youth to challenge the status quo and try our new beer. The Stencil was then featured in the Lebanese Brew music video also titled “Courage is Contagious” which went viral, adding to the weight of the message. This bold permanent outdoor installation cost zero dollars in media. It is viewed by thousands of Lebanese citizens everyday, and still stands as a testament to the courage of the Lebanese youth who helped launch a brave new beer in their country. The stencil was also shared by various websites: http://la-artist.com/news/2011/06/graffiti-in-beirut-courage-is-contagious-2/ http://sugarpop.posterous.com/courage-is-contagious-thisislebanon-urbanart http://mendmyheart.tumblr.com/post/6109575531 http://web.stagram.com/p/85155690 http://beirutspring.com/blog/2011/08/24/huge-stencil-painting-for-wikileaks-supporters-in-lebanon/ http://beirutpost.tumblr.com/post/6109337908/courage-is-contagious-thisislebanon-urbanart http://networkedblogs.com/iVyo5 http://lebanonesia.blogspot.com/2011/08/photo-that-i-shot-todayin-beirut.html