2013 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

Helping Hands is an independent charity based in Dubai. They wanted to expose the truth on the harsh living conditions of labourers, an ongoing plight that is unknown to many of us living in a city of luxury. With limited advertising budget, Helping Hands needed an unconventional approach to raise awareness, one that was disruptive enough to reach our audience directly, yet powerful enough to drive them to help labourers.

Creative Execution

In a country where media is monitored, revealing the truth on social issues is a tough challenge. Our creative solution therefore was to go undercover and bypass media regulation, using an online housing portal in a way that was never used before. With no money spent, we targeted our audience directly in the perfect place, encouraging donations of much-needed care packages for Helping Hands.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

To expose these harsh living conditions, we decided to trick house-hunters. Using one of the region's biggest housing portals, GNADS4U.com, which gets over one million visitors per month, we posted false luxury property ads. When home-seekers clicked to view more photos, we showed them a reality they never knew existed in their own city. From overcrowded bedrooms to inhumane bathrooms, we shocked people with the truth in an unexpected way. We then provided them with a direct channel to offer their support to labourers via donations on the Helping Hands website.

Results

With this direct approach, we demonstrated that you don't need a big budget to make a big impact on people. By letting house-hunters experience a different reality, they felt compelled to help those living in less fortunate conditions. As a result, we tripled donations for Helping Hands in one week alone. Collecting care packages from across Dubai and even Abu Dhabi. Our return on investment was not measured in Dollars, but by hundreds of deeply moved labourers. And judging by ongoing emails and SMS to Helping Hands, valuable relationships have been established with concerned residents, pledging to offer their continued support.