2016 Winners & Shortlists

ABBA AHMED'S PRICELESS JOURNEY

BrandMASTERCARD
Product/ServicePRICELESS NIGERIA
EntrantFP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryUse of Promotional Stunts/ Live Advertising / Live Shows / Concerts & Festivals
Entrant Company FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Advertising Agency FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Advertising Agency 2 DIGITASLBI Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Agency CARAT Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production Company THE VIDEO LOUNGE Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

The Brief

In Nigeria, MasterCard wanted to generate positive word of mouth and win share of heart. The brand wanted to give Nigerian football fans a reason to celebrate through the success of another one of their own - from the younger generation – the future of Nigeria. And we picked a priceless opportunity to bring MasterCard’s global engagement platform of Priceless Surprises to life. For a young football fan or player, the chance to be a player escort at the UEFA Champions League Final is the chance of a lifetime. It is priceless.

Creative Execution

For a country embroiled in ethic tensions for years, Football was the unifying force while Kanu was Nigeria’s football hero that was unanimously loved by everyone irrespective of the ethnicity he belonged to. We invited young football fans and players in Nigeria to showcase their best goal celebrations through a nation-wide competition. Then we asked Kanu to select an underprivileged child – Abba Ahmed (from a rival ethnic group than Kanu’s) as the winner. Kanu then surprised Abba by announcing him as the winner during a movie outing and handed him the player escort jersey. Ultimately, as the world watched, Abba’s dream came true as he escorted Neymar onto the pitch at the UEFA Champions league final in Berlin, while his family and friends watched back home leading to wild celebrations and tears of joy. Abba had made the historic journey from Nigeria's streets to the world’s biggest football stage. 

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

The campaign achieved the highest ever influence by a brand online in Nigeria. (1) 15 million Nigerians reached. (2) 2 million actively engaged through the film and social media. (3) 99% positive sentiments. (3) Organic reach of 40% was 3 times higher than the benchmark in Nigeria (4) Share Rate of 22% was the highest in Nigeria. (5) MasterCard’s transactions grew +60% (vs. the previous year). (6) And it became the foundation for Priceless Surprises in Nigeria, giving MasterCard a sustainable business and brand engagement platform. Most importantly, through Abba’s victory, a nation had come together. And this was priceless.

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

The entire idea was driven by a promotion mechanic and culminated in two memorable activations. We invited young football fans and players in Nigeria to showcase their best goal celebrations through a nation-wide competition. Then we asked Kanu to select an underprivileged child – Abba Ahmed (from a rival ethnic group than Kanu’s) as the winner. Kanu then surprised Abba by announcing him as the winner during a movie outing and handed him the player escort jersey. Ultimately, as the world watched, Abba’s dream came true as he escorted Neymar onto the pitch at the UEFA Champions league final in Berlin, while his family and friends watched back home leading to wild celebrations and tears of joy.

Credits

Name Company Role
Kartik Aiyar Fp7/dxb Creative Director
Ali Rez Fp7/dxb Creative Director
Tahaab Rais Fp7/dxb Regional Head of Strategic Planning
Spiro Malak Fp7/dxb General Manager - Business Unit
Paul Banham Fp7/dxb Executive Creative Director
Deblina Gupta Fp7/dxb Account Director
Razan Jalloul Fp7/dxb Account Manager
Khaled Hamza/Brence D'Sa Fp7/dxb Creative Services Director/Production manager
Salvador Porteria/Rizwan/Amit Borawake/Nikhil Fp7/dxb Senior Designer/Studio and Retouch artists
Simon Attwater DigitasLBi MENA Executive Creative Director
Tom Burrell DigitasLBi MENA Director of Strategy/Insight
Shaymaa Abuquta DigitasLBi MENA Strategy Consultant
Shwan Nazar DigitasLBi MENA Art Director
Katrina Petrenko DigitasLBi MENA Copywriter
Rachel Mwakule DigitasLBi MENA Designer
Liala Al Zein Omar DigitasLBi MENA Social Media Executive
Alice Elmi Carat Dubai Associate Media Director
Liam Cundill Director
Werner Els/Ashraf Mohammedunny Editor
Tarek Abdelnabi MasterCard VP Marketing/Sub-Saharan Africa