2013 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

Lebanon ranks 101 in the world according to the press freedom index and the 91st in terms of economic freedom, and 134th in transparency. The country is divided amongst 18 sects, which resulted in 15 years of civil war. Currently the government runs strict censorship on all media, including literary publications. Moreover, there's a regulating body that governs the Local TV stations, so much so that one of the stations was closed down for over a decade due to the opinions of its journalists. All creative industries are affected by the government’s censorship; over the years many Lebanese productions (film, theatre, musicals...etc) were banned from showing in Lebanon as well as foreign productions. Even musicians face censorship and some of the artists/albums/songs are banned in Lebanon. Brands avoid controversy and stick to the guidelines the government has in place since all material are subject to censorship AFTER production, i.e the work sent to censorship has to be 100% identical to the work being published or they won’t grant you the “censorship code of authorization”.

Results

Mobile telephony in Lebanon ranks in the top 5 most expensive in the world (cost/minute). To launch touch’s bundles’ service, a first in Lebanon, allowing subscribers to customize their lines and finally save money, we needed to portray its flexibility. So we wrote A POP CULTURE HIT SONG that rode on the diversity of the Lebanese society, which is defined by its many political, sectarian & cultural differences that deeply divide the population, ending it with a strong & simple message: Whoever you are, there's a plan for you. And so, the song premiered through a 1minute film: a continuous one-shot video, panning across a 27 meter-long, 2 floors-high construction divided into 14 individual rooms, which literally brought a sample of the Lebanese cosmos to life. The song celebrates all the local stereotypes and typical Lebanese characters that everyone relates to, and was interpreted by the lead singer of the most popular alternative band in Beirut. Thus proving that, despite their differences, a 1minute film & song could bring all the Lebanese under one roof. In parallel with the song’s launch on local TVs and online platforms, it was also running on local radio stations. And riding on the momentum, we then launched a fun & engaging facebook app, that invited users to match the characters from the song with their friends and entourage, while also suggesting the appropriate bundle for them.

With a population of approx. 4million, Lebanon hosts over 10 music festivals yearly, boasting the biggest and most exciting music scene in the region. And with its homegrown artists making it big abroad (ex: Mika), international & alternative music is gaining more and more popularity amongst the Lebanese who are also very attached to their Arabic musical heritage (i.e: Fairuz, Rahbani, Haifa…). So, when we launched a song with lyrics all Lebanese could identify with, mirroring their daily entourage, and that was interpreted by the lead singer of Beirut’s most popular alternative band, it became an instant POP CULTURE HIT.

The song was an instant hit. Ranked by online users as the 3rd most viral campaign of the year in the region, the song was heavily downloaded, shared and generated over 30,000 views in its first week since its launch. It was requested on the radio, made the headline news on all local TV stations, was featured in the highest audience generating talk shows and even became an online ‘meme’ used to express political & social opinions, with 100’s revisiting it to create their very own home-made cover versions and parodies. The campaign attracted tens of thousands, creating an instantaneous 10% increase in subscriptions to the MyPlan bundle.