2016 Winners & Shortlists

I SAY ARABI

Bronze
BrandDISH NETWORK
Product/ServiceCABLE PROVIDER
EntrantLEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON
CategoryViral Film
Entrant Company LEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON
Advertising Agency LEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON
Media Agency KEPLER New York, USA
Production Company BLACK RHINO Beirut, LEBANON

The Campaign

To address the generational and cultural gap, we created a piece of entertainment through the important usage of Arabic language and popular western hip-hop musical genre. The idea was to highlight the culture clash within an Arab-American family with the use of distinct cultural iconography and styles. The film begins with a cliché Arab-American dad who enters his teenager’s room; it’s a mess, with no signs of Arabic roots. The dad asks his son to put his video-game down and join the family in the TV-room to spend quality time together. Unconvinced, the son answers in an ill-mannered way with a harsh American accent. Deceived, his dad leaves the room and the teenager falls into a dream-sequence of Arabic rap-battle with his father. The rest is a surreal music video, with all scenes and interiors reworked in the kids’ subconscious. Throughout the film, pronunciation of traditional Arabic foods are used as a test of how in culturally In-touch he is. It ends with the teenager waking up in the same position as he fell asleep, as though he just experienced a revelation. He joins his parents in the TV-room and speaks to them in his mother-tongue, leaving them in awe.

Credits

Name Company Role
Wissam Smayra Black Rhino Director
Nasser Chorbaji Artist Musician/Vocal
Bechara Mouzannar Leo Burnett Beirut Chief Creative Officer
Malek Ghorayeb Leo Burnett Beirut Regional Executive Creative Director
Areej Mahmoud Leo Burnett Beirut Executive Creative Director
Nada Abi Saleh Leo Burnett Beirut Managing Director
Peter Mouraccade Leo Burnett Beirut Head of Communication
Youmna El Asmar Leo Burnett Beirut Senior Strategic Planner
Rana Najjar Leo Burnett Beirut Creative Director
Marc Maftoum Leo Burnett Beirut Senior Art Director
Samer Makarem Leo Burnett Beirut Communication Supervisor
Farah Dagher Leo Burnett Beirut Jr. Communication Executive