2012 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

After 15 years of Lebanese civil war resulting in poorly controlled borders, counterfeit products are so widespread here. They’re everywhere to be seen, yet barely noticed. Almost any brand has a fake equivalent in stores. Our objective was to create an anti-counterfeit awareness campaign and promote the client’s call center. We wanted March 15, the International Counterfeit Day, to be the climax of our campaign, so we decided to carry out the biggest orchestrated stunt in the history of the Middle East.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

In Arabic the words imitation / counterfeit/ fake all mean the same. Our idea: "The closest things to you can be fake". The highest nationally circulated newspaper agreed to fake its front-page logo as part of a joint experiment, in which people were asked to spot the difference and report it. The most popular radio and TV show hosts had a fake presenter fill in for them on air during prime time. In Beirut’s biggest shopping mall, dozens of young people in branded t-shirts were released amongst shoppers to imitate their every gesture. On Facebook, we faked profiles of 250 major influencers who received a Facebook friend request from their personal imposter.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

In a country of 4.5 million... Across media, our awareness campaign reached 3,680,000 people. Newspaper stunt reached 490,560 readers. TV& radio stunts reached 720,000 and created massive conversation on Youtube and major blogs. Mall stunt was seen by 27,000. Facebook stunt reached 250 major influencers and subsequent coverage reached more than 40,000. In total, our campaign reached 92% of the population and received free media coverage worth $375,000. In a month’s time, the Call Center witnessed 850% increase in number of callers. It’s being used at a major university as a successful case study. With this level of awareness, counterfeit can no longer go unnoticed.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

We needed to reach the masses to spread awareness. The best way to demonstrate the danger and inconvenience of counterfeiting was to give people a direct taste of it. So we used the different media channels they consume most to carry out a strategic stunt to grab their attention, our message to register and be memorable.