2014 Winners & Shortlists

SAPNA

Bronze

Case Film

Presentation Board

BrandSMARTLIFE FOUNDATION
Product/ServiceSMARTLIFE FOUNDATION'S SAPNA FUND
EntrantFP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryEnvironmental Design
Entrant Company FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Advertising Agency FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Brief Explanation

We wanted to inspire people in UAE to participate in a unique charitable cause for a segment of the society who are often ignored: The labourers. Being a non-profit entity, funds were limited. We needed to create an idea that was so contagious that it spread from people to people and from people to media channels. It needed to be remarkable in order to attract people to contribute and talk about it. Our eventual goal was to help give the neediest children a quality education all the way up to graduation, which is something their fathers have only dreamt about.

The Brief

There are over a million blue-collar workers in UAE, building the dreams of the country and its people. Brick by brick, nail by nail, they are also silently working towards their own dreams of giving their children a better education and hence, a better life. But we discovered that even though they labour tirelessly, with some of them hammering in up to 200,000 nails a month, their monthly salaries (as low as 200-300 USD) might never be enough. SmartLife Foundation (an NGO for UAE’s blue-collar workers) wanted to help build their dreams.

How the final design was conceived

To help build the dreams of those very blue-collar workers who build ours, we wanted to use the same nails they hammered in everyday. In an immersive manner, we wanted to give people a chance to empathize and feel a fraction of the workers' efforts. So, we created SAPNA (Dream) a canvas with 17,793 designated markers designed by Pointillist artists. People could buy a nail for a minimum of 10 AED (~$2.7) and hammer it onto our markers. And as the nails would fill up the wall, the dream would come to life, forming an image of a child being gifted a graduation hat.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

For an absolute $0 cost (production, location, media, volunteers - pro bono), the SAPNA wall became the first crowd-sourced nail art piece for charity, attracting over 55 different nationalities, and popular Arab celebrities and influencers. People's shared photographs which gave us over a 100,000 free social ads combined with the unexpected coverage across TV, Print and Radio, have generated an earned (free) media value of over $400,000 and rising. In just 9 days, all 17,793 nails were bought, giving 20 blue-collar workers’ children a quality education all the way up to graduation; something their parents had only dreamt about.

Credits

Name Company Role
Tahaab Rais FP7/DXB Head Of Insights And Strategy
Paul Banham FP7/DXB Executive Creative Director
Josephine Younes FP7/DXB Associate Creative Director
Nayaab Rais FP7/DXB Associate Creative Director
Paul Banham/Josephine Younes/Nayaab Rais FP7/DXB Art Director
Paul Banham/Nayaab Rais/Tahaab Rais/Josephine Younes FP7/DXB Copywriter
Vicky Kriplani FP7/DXB Account Director
Sameer Islam FP7/DXB Strategic Planner
Asitha Hb FP7/DXB Pointillist Artist/Illustrator
Khaled Hamza FP7/DXB Agency Producer
Sreenivasan Kuniyil FP7/DXB Assistant Production Manager
Ashraf Muhammadunny/Aurangzaib Zafar FP7/DXB Motion Artist And Editor
Dolly Saidy/Mario Atallah/Karol Akl MINT MENA Agency Producer
Arun Kumar Krishnan MCN Regional It Director
Yasmin Ahmed General Manager Smartlife Foundation
Rex Prakash Secretary Smartlife Foundation
Spiro Malak FP7/DXB Business Unit Director
Adam Browning Hill Adam Browning Hill Photographer
Eye Media Additional company
MINT MENA Additional company
TETRA Additional company