2014 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

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. This was also an amazing opportunity to appeal to a wider audience who in the past would not have considered Sprite

Creative Execution

Sprite’s brand promise is all about being Refreshingly Authentic. It is a product for strong willed people, regardless of social status or ethnicity. For the campaign, we chose the most refreshingly authentic character in World Cricket to help us do something bold, new and worthy and create a positive effect on humanity.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

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. We created a cricket tournament. Then spent 6 months surprising everyone from Pakistani laborers to Indian business leaders, from the cricket pitch to the boardroom – uniting people of different backgrounds around one common passion and making lifelong dreams come true.

Results

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.