2015 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

A nation’s biggest failure is when it forgets what it’s capable of. In 2014, a dark cloud loomed over Lebanon once more. Media outlets competed to paint a dark vision of the future, and the people followed suit. The Lebanese were forgetting what they’re truly capable of, and we made it our mission to remind them. We didn’t simply want to reassert the iconic Johnnie Walker Whisky as a produce of choice, we needed the Lebanese to Keep Walking again as they’ve always done. Through a participative campaign we wanted to transform the negative media landscapes through the Lebanese themselves.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We created a social media activation, at the image of the campaign and brand, allowing for people to submit their messages of hope, as well as view a repository of messages that were turned into art pieces alongside the online movie. The selected messages were transformed into campaign visuals and we notified the authors online in real time over a full month. On a daily basis we created new visuals based on the people’s statements and each day for the duration of the campaign we used them to promote hope in the country in print and standard outdoor across the country.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

38,400,000 impressions 306,022 Total Video Views $766,000 in earned media Over 2,500 user messages of hope. Hundreds transformed into campaign visuals used across media. On January 1st, Lebanon’s main TV talk show dedicated an entire episode to the brand, with its content articulated around 5 campaign visuals. 4 publications dedicated their editorials to hope. In a saturated market (source AC Nielsen): JW market share (Nov/Dec 2014), from leader position, grew by 19.99% vs. last year’s 2,2% growth, +6.54 ppts ahead of category Black label: value share grew 31%, 10ppt faster than category Red label volume share grew by 4%

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Johnnie Walker stands for the celebration of progress and its Keep Walking brand mantra strongly resonates with the Lebanese who have seen their fair share of obstacles and limitations. In a time of almost total uncertainty we needed the Lebanese to collectively rally behind a symbol, a flame representing their resilient spirit, and we needed them to feel that they had a role in the brand’s story. Through the usage of fire calligraphy that gave life to people’s statements we streamlined the campaign’s visual language across touch points cementing it in the hearts and minds of the Lebanese.