2016 Winners & Shortlists

NOT JUST SPECIAL, BUT SUPER

BrandCITY CENTRE DEIRA/MIRDIF
Product/ServiceSHOPPING MALLS
EntrantSTARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryNon-Fiction: Series or Film
Media Agency STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Entrant Company STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Agency 2 STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production Company GENERATION 3D Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production Company 2 KIYANY MEDIA Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The Campaign

Using this insight and wanting to portray special needs children as real life superheroes, we approached Al Noor Center for Special Needs Training in Dubai. The inspiration was to take focus away from the children’s ‘disabilities’ and instead bring to light their ‘abilities’ in a fun, tangible and relatable manner. Since all children grow up wanting to be a superhero, the idea brought to life the inner superhero of each of these special needs children, literally! In fun social experiment, we asked twenty young special needs children to describe their favorite superhero and what would they be like if they had superpowers. A black and blue cloaked Batwoman, Thor wearing cricket pads, and a Tennis racket wielding Super-girl was what they described, all of which were sketched in real time, followed by a 3D face scan of each child to capture their facial features. The sketches were then digitally converted, and 3D printed to life in the form of custom-made superhero figurines with each child’s face and superhero body as described by them.

The Initiative proved to the world that every child holds unlimited potential. The Campaign delivered earned media value of over $1.2M and over 2M views on YouTube and Facebook. The initiative became a talking point, thanks to the coverage from leading local media stations Sky News Arabia, Sama Dubai and a special tweet by Bollywood’s leading Star Hrithik Roshan, that reached out to over 13M followers. Dubai is now on its way to be a disabled-friendly city by 2020 and the word ‘Special’ has now been dropped by the school. Above all, the world now sees these children for who they really are, super!

Credits

Name Company Role
Roy Khattar MAJID AL FUTTAIM PROPERTIES LLC Marketing- Senior Director
Nada Abou Saab MAJID AL FUTTAIM PROPERTIES LLC Marketing - Associate Director
Manikandan Hari Starcom Mediavest Group Client Managing Director
Mohit Lodha Starcom MediaVest Group Regional Director - Human Experience
Tauseef Anwar Starcom Mediavest Group Associate Media Director
Dana Joulani Starcom Mediavest Group Senior Media Executive
Nikita Masillamani Starcom Mediavest Group Senior Media Executive
Andrea Mendonca Starcom Mediavest Group Senior Media Executive
Rachel Chidiac Starcom Mediavest Group Media Executive
Zaid Al Barrishi Starcom Mediavest Group Senior Digital Media Manager
Hassan Kiyany Kiyany Media Director
Leo James Kiyany Media Cameraman
Faisal Kiyany Media Cameraman
Aboobakr Khan Kiyany Media Graphics
Dale Nichols Kiyany Media Music
Romulo Miclat Romulo Creations Illustrator
Max Reynard Generation 3d Director
Dominic Wright Generation 3d Director
Mini Chandran Al Noor School Fundraising Executiive