2014 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

Branded entertainment is allowed in Lebanon, several TV shows such as The Voice foster people participation. However, engagement levels with brands through branded content have yet to mature in Lebanon. While there are some restrictions on user content displayed on TV, i.e. religious censorship, there are no legal restrictions to content communicated online or on the public walls of the city. Nevertheless, the latter although not subject to criminal law is sometimes subject to clandestine controls from police and/or street gangs.

Results

In 2013, two Lebanese filmmakers revived the lost story of how a group of students and their professor almost entered Lebanon into the space race of the 60s through the Lebanese Rocket Society (LRS) Our mission was to introduce the film and story to the disenchanted youth of Lebanon. Disconnected from mainstream media we needed to reach our audience and have them pursue their dreams by making the unbelievable once again believable. By using a sub-culture approach we spread the story and challenged the youths’ skepticism with one main message: Believe it, if you don’t come see it. At the core of the campaign was a special execution poster, which highjacked existing posters of politicians, had the purpose of re-igniting the belief that no one should stand between the people and their dreams. The poster was supported by a series of stencils, graffiti art, purchasable t-shirts and a digital activation. Deployment: Overnight, the campaign was first launched with a series of Lebanese Rocket Society (LRS) graphic insignias, blending classic Lebanese symbols with space theme designs, in key regions where the youth spend their time. A few days later, the graffiti mural was completed on one Beirut’s main arteries, exposed to hundreds of thousands of daily passers by. Followed suit were the special execution posters that highjacked the politician’s empty promises on highly crowded urban areas, many which neighbor the country’s most prominent academic institutions. In parallel, we launched a replica of the poster on Facebook allowing the youth to proudly adopt the campaign. The Furie Des Glandeurs publication allowed for user and artist-generated content made the LRS story part of Lebanon’s art scene and once again became part of people’s imagination. All along the campaign, t-shirts were sold out at key retail shops and worn by believers across the country.

By using a sub-culture approach we spread the story and challenged the youths’ skepticism with one main message: Believe it, if you don’t come see it. At the core of the campaign was a special execution poster, which highjacked existing posters of politicians, had the purpose of re-igniting the belief that no one should stand between the people and their dreams. The poster was supported by stencils, graffiti and a digital activation and by a special LRS edition of the Furie des Glandeurs magazine where the country’s the public and top underground artists provided their artistic interpretations of the story.

With no budget support and no paid media, the campaign achieved: • Hundreds of Facebook profile pictures adopted the astronaut filter and shared it online. • Hundreds of t-shirts sold. • 2000 posters in 10 high traffic locations in Beirut. • A 150% increase in expected attendance at the only movie theatre where the documentary was allowed to be viewed. • 3000 hand sprayed tags in 10 high traffic locations in Beirut. • Crowd and artist-sourced content shown in La Furie Des Glandeurs magazine. Most importantly, the campaign inspired a resurrection of a scientific and peaceful space rocket program initiated by a young student.