2014 Winners & Shortlists

Results

In 2011, Sprite ran a campaign to refresh the nation’s unsung heroes and turn laborers into cricket stars. But the campaign’s runaway success also highlighted the boundaries that still divide UAE’s diverse cricket loving communities. Too many people remain divided by superficial differences. We wanted to change this by connecting individuals, communities, classes and countries that have not always mixed. Sprite’s brand promise is all about being Refreshingly Authentic. It is a product for strong willed people, regardless of social status or ethnicity. Shoaib Akthar came from humble beginnings to become a fast bowling legend. Like Sprite, he endeared himself to fans from all walks of life through outspokenness and charisma. With Shoaib, we created a cricket tournament and spent 6 months promoting it to the public, surprising everyone from Pakistani laborers to Indian business leaders, from the cricket pitch to the boardroom – uniting people around their common passion. The tournament itself was held at Dulsco Cricket ground and the 25,000 seat Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The audience were drawn primarily by the chance to watch great cricket, play cricket with their hero or be a part of something historic. What made it unique was that the audience was as much a part of the content as they were viewers of it.

We refreshed entire communities, directly connecting more than 150,000 people to their hero, to each other and to the brand. There was a 75% increase in target audience who consider Sprite to be their favorite brand (now a massive 17.1%). We erased boundaries, broke taboos and created history. This translated into astonishing growth for Sprite (14% year on year), with 34% sales growth during the campaign period, including 57% growth among laborers. This was an extraordinary growth in sales considering the previous numbers.