2015 Winners & Shortlists

Brief Explanation

This is the story of how a simple Saudi gesture becomes a worldwide phenomenon. We open at a Parisian café, where a Saudi man shakes his cup when the waitress offers more coffee. In Saudi culture, this is a way to DECLINE a refill of your drink. A nearby Frenchman notices this – and soon imitates the cup-shaking gesture. From here onwards, everyone does the cup-shake… and it goes global. Cut to the harbourside in Jakarta, where a dock-worker uses the gesture. Then to a Moroccan steam bath in exotic Casablanca, where a bather shakes his cup in the same way. And to the sumptious luxury of Buckingham Palace in London, where even Her Majesty The Queen joins in. Next we see a traditional wedding ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, where the couple refuse a refill using the cup-shake gesture. And finally to the dressing room at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, where football star Wayne Rooney shakes his water-bottle. By showing how a small Saudi tradition has travelled around the world, Flynas can now claim that “We’ve gone global” – illustrating the journey of the airline from a regional operator to a worldwide business, with numerous long-haul destinations.

Creative Execution

The TV commercial took us on a journey through a range of exotic long-haul destinations. And to support this visual richness, we created a unique and original soundtrack that conveyed the mood of each stop on our cultural odyssey. How? Our music composition was based on a simple melodic motif which was interpreted by different instruments to reflect the different locations. For example: we hear a French accordian during the Paris scene, a gambus oud in Jakarta, a berber flute in Casablanca, and a string quartet in London.