2015 Winners & Shortlists

PEPSI REUNIONS

Silver
BrandPEPSICO INTERNATIONAL
Product/ServicePEPSI
EntrantIMPACT BBDO Cairo, EGYPT
CategoryUse or integration of music
Entrant Company IMPACT BBDO Cairo, EGYPT
Contributing Company IMPACT BBDO Cairo, EGYPT
Contributing Company 2 IMPACT BBDO Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Agency OMD Cairo, EGYPT
Production Company ASAP Cairo, EGYPT

The Campaign

Since the revolution, branded content has blown up in Egypt, as brands and people began using it as a medium to express themselves. Telecommunication brands used it to express that we are all one (Mobinil’s Ramadan campaign in 2012 and 2013), CSD brands used it to tell Egyptians that tomorrow brings hope and new beginnings (Pepsi Ramadan for 2012 and Coca Cola Ramadan campaigns for 2012 and 2013); there really wasn’t anyone who wasn’t using it. The one thing all these communications had in common was they were all music related one way or the other. So this year when building Pepsi’s communication we know from past formulas that music is what sticks with people more than anything, but we weren’t just going to make another music video, we had to bring something to the table that no one else has done before. So here is where the idea of nostalgic branded content came to life, we decided to make a content that was not just using some great singer that’s on the top charts, we brought them a duet that have split up for over 20 years.

Results

Political turmoil in Egypt across the past years caused unprecedented political divide not only between parties but also between people. So Pepsi took this challenge upon itself to bring back the people together, but how can a bottle of soda share a message everyone would embrace? We know that if there was one thing we all agreed upon, it was that we all miss the days when we were united. We created a music video where we brought together the six most iconic and nostalgic celebrity groups of Egypt, but what makes their reunion extraordinary is that they haven't been seen together for over 20 years. The groups included a variety of legends starting from the 1990 Egyptian football team until a discontinued Egyptian version of the Muppet Show. We launched by releasing the music video on YouTube and TV a week into Ramadan after all brands had already launched their campaigns. The song was then released on the radio circulation, and became a household name and through unlimited requests, it became even more circulated and available for everyone to listen to. We then brought this music video to life by asking everyone to dig out old photos with their loved ones, be it with friends or family, and recreate those memories by uploading their “Then & Now” photos on our digital platforms. And for every photo sent in, we lit up a bulb in a giant Ramadan lantern in the middle of Tahrir Square, notoriously known as the place where society's divide first took place. And within only 3 days, the entire lantern lit up, truly embarking the fact that each consumer was touched by our message, and with absolutely no incentive, prize or recognition, willingly reminisced on the good old days.

The idea was the first of its kind in Egypt. Egyptian celebrities are usually known to be too proud to settle their differences, especially when it comes to settling them in front of millions. And actually, Egyptian celebrities are too proud to even make ‘comebacks’ after they’ve been away from the limelight for that long. The fact that we managed to reunite six celebrity groups after their long years of differences and absences was inconceivable. They didn’t know what to expect and they got the shock of their lives when they saw these people on screen after 20 years.

It was groundbreaking, as the music video’s soundtrack became the most requested song on radio in Ramadan, surpassing some of the regions most popular platinum-selling artists. Digitally, the music video became the most mentioned topic on Twitter in Ramadan alongside the user generated hashtag #thankyoupepsi. Not only that, Pepsi itself received over 93 million impressions online, over 1 billion Twitter impressions alone, and became the most watched branded content in the history of the Middle East with over 15 million views. This was a record that has not been broken since and is very hard to break in the foreseeable future. Pepsi also managed to grow its volumes to 107% on overall company performance, while achieving 130% on the 2-liter multi serve pack and 115% on the 1-liter multi serve pack. The volume drive was accompanied by an increase in the taste parameter by a record 9+ alongside other parameters such as ‘Brand I Love’, ‘Cool Brand’ and ‘Associated with Music’. But what truly marks the success of our campaign is that the people of Egypt stopped talking about their differences and instead began talking about the times that brought them once together…all this, in less than a month.

Credits

Name Company Role
Hussam Mourou Impact BBDO Cairo Executive Creative Director
Emile Tabanji Impact BBDO Cairo Managing Director
Philippe Berthelot Impact BBDO Dubai Business Director
Mohamed Abdel Rehim Impact BBDO Cairo Head Of Tv Production
Mohamed Hammad Impact BBDO Cairo Group Account Director
Carla Hassan Pepsico International Chief Marketing Officer
Hussam Dabbous Pepsico International Senior Marketing Director
Tamer El Rafie Pepsico International Marketing Director
Mostafa Hamza Impact BBDO Cairo Associate Creative Director
Bassem Gad Impact BBDO Cairo Associate Creative Director
Wael Khairy Impact BBDO Cairo English Copywriter
Mostafa Samy Impact BBDO Cairo Graphic Designer
Ahmed Tarabily Impact BBDO Cairo Editor
Ahmed Fahmy Impact BBDO Cairo Senior Account Manager
Hebatullah Essawy Impact BBDO Dubai Senior Account Manager
Baher Eid Impact BBDO Cairo Senior Account Executive
Amin El Masry ASAP Executive Producer