2016 Winners & Shortlists

Brief Explanation

Billboards are a hazard to the environment. Recycling them is a solution but not in UAE. Every month approximately 8076 billboards end up in the junkyard. Everyone knows but nobody cares. As UAE's leading advertiser, Emirates NBD decided it was time to stop this but with no upcycling facility available locally, we had no option but to send billboards abroad. Emirates NBD became the first advertiser in the region to recycle their billboards Not only did Emirates NBD want to help environment but also prove to others that these re-purposed billboards could make a difference.

Results and Effectiveness

Emirates NBD second life billboard made a positive difference to the environment & contributed to a promising second life to over 4500 refugee children in the region. the story has delivered over 1.2 million video views on all social media channels.

Creative Execution

We created Second Life billboards. Old billboards got a new life as school bags & stationery especially repurposed for the Syrian refugee kids. We then partnered with SOS to help us distribute the bags to the needy children to help them get back to school. This was in many ways a new beginning for children who were denied their right to education.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

We knew around millions of children in the region had been left homeless by the war, but the biggest casualty was their education. According to UNICEF, around 2 million Syrian children had been deprived of their right to education. What if our billboards could help these children get back to school?