2014 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

The purpose of this campaign was to halt the transformation into a parking lot, of a public garden in Beirut. The strategy consisted in mobilizing the neighborhood against this project and having them join a big protest in and around the garden to force the municipality to cancel the project. The distribution of intriguing odorant flyers to the residents of the area, in addition to hanging large banners around the garden with willingly provocative, "pro-parking" messages, were the initial media used that triggered a series of events which finally lead to the project cancellation.

Creative Execution

The creative execution was relevant and effective on more than one front: - The odorant flyers intrigued the consumers and triggered their curiosity through engaging their sense of smell, which was totally relevant to the Park vs Parking issue. They also raised awareness in an unexpected way, about an issue most of the residents didn't know about, and gave them a foretaste of what would happen to their neighborhood should the parking replace the park. - The provocative banners around the garden succeeded in infuriating the residents and mobilizing them for the protest against the construction of the parking.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

A counter strategy was launched which consisted in organizing protests in favor of the parking after hanging banners with provocative, "pro-parking" messages around the garden. To mobilize the locals, odorant flyers with one side smelling like garden roses and the other like engine oil, were handed to them with a message asking them which smell they would prefer to have in their neighborhood. The flyers also invited them to join a protest around the garden against the construction of the parking. The response exceeded expectations with a huge number of residents coming to the protest and tearing down the provocative banners.

Results

This was the biggest turnout for any green protest in Lebanon. More than 40 leading media, local and regional, reported the story: TV, radio stations, newspapers and blogs, reaching 88% of the population and $400,000 worth of free media coverage, for a campaign which cost $56. People and bloggers, thinking the original provocative banners were real, shared the story which quickly became viral. Politicians intervened in favor of preserving the public garden and a concert was organized for support, forcing the municipality to cancel the construction of the parking lot thus saving one of Beirut’s last green escape.