Brand | THE COCA-COLA COMPANY |
Product/Service | SPRITE |
Entrant | MEMAC OGILVY Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES |
Category | BEST FICTIONAL PROGRAM, SERIES OR FILM WHERE A CLIENT HAS SUCCESSFULLY CREATED A DRAMA, COMEDY OR MINISERIES AROUND A PRODUCT OR BRAND |
Entrant Company
|
MEMAC OGILVY Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
|
Contributing Company
|
MEMAC OGILVY Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
|
The Campaign
Entertainment programming on television and radio is subject to government censorship and control in Saudi Arabia, this includes all branded content of any kind. In the digital realm, although the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia represents one of the largest digital markets in the Middle East, it is still considered one of the top 10 enemies of the internet with over 400,000 pages blocked.
Results
In the past three years Sprite has been so quiet in the market to the point of non-existence. We were tasked to bring it back to life, in full force as a no bullshit brand. All this, in the heavily censored KSA. We did that through comedy, by creating a platform that’s as refreshingly honest as our brand.
Sprite Minalakhir was born, with a 5-minute video series taking an honest spin on life. These videos were broadcasted on YouTube, the Minalakhir-website, Facebook, and Twitter. The initial reaction was filled with skepticism from viewers who were unprepared for brutal honesty. But we turned things around to our advantage in record time.
Our target audience spends a daily average of 15 hours online. Choosing the internet as our main medium was the first step to grabbing their attention. Once launched, the young Saudis were quickly following our series after relating to the refreshing honest perspective to their daily social struggles. And because Saudis feel more comfortable expressing themselves online where restrictions are decreased, they were encouraged to contribute in discussions on our Facebook page, Twitter account, and Minalakhir website. They were also drawn to the humor and comedy approach that made all topics fun and enjoyable.
Although the campaign received harsh criticism in the first few weeks, within a period of only 8 weeks, we managed to turn most haters into followers. We grew from only 53 fans on our Facebook page at the beginning of the campaign to around 400,000 fans. The show went from almost getting canceled to receiving over 5.5 million views… and counting.
The Sprite brand that had only 2% annual sales growth in KSA jumped to an incredible 15% growth during the first half of the campaign! And most importantly, we created a self-expression movement around the Saudi youth, encouraging them to say things the way they are.
Credits
Fabian Roser |
Ogilvyone |
Creative Director |
Sally Tambourgi |
Ogilvyone |
Associate Creative Director |
Hadeel Ahmad |
Ogilvyone |
Copywriter |
Nadine Hallak |
Ogilvyone |
Designer |
Mahesh Powar |
Ogilvyone |
Designer |
Sean Hart |
Ogilvyone |
Client Services Director |
Tarek Shawki |
Memac Ogilvy |
Business Director |
Sevim Oezdel |
Ogilvyone |
Account Director |
Tara-Paige Gelman |
Ogilvyone |
Account Manager |
Nick Moore |
Ogilvyone |
Planner |
Nabil Moutran |
Ogilvyone |
Regional Director |
Yousuf Baqir |
Ogilvyone |
Executive Digital Producer |
Mohammed Sayeed |
Ogilvyone |
Web Developer |
Qainan Idris |
Ogilvyone |
Software Development Manager |
Kareem Shuhaibar/Dylan Kidson |
Memac Ogilvy |
Copywriter |
Dana Taha |
Memac Ogilvy |
Designer |
Omar Katerji |
Um |
Media Manager |
Mazen Sraj |
Um |
Digital Account Manager |
Tarun Sabhlok |
Coca-Cola |
Group Brand Manager |
Sharat Mohanchandran |
Coca-Cola |
Brand Manager |