2017 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

Mothers in Lebanon have managed to overcome many difficulties in order to raise happiness within their families. This is the strength of mothers on their own and without support. What if mothers where able to break the taboo stopping them from having a voice and a role in society, and unite together in order to empower motherhood in Lebanon? We created the CIRCLE OF MOTHERHOOD, by showcasing 14 short un-scripted documentaries about 14 mothers from all stages of motherhood and from all walks of life. Each of the mothers shared their unique story of how they overcame different sets of challenges (be it a disabled child, a divorce, or being deaf), and have managed to ultimately raise happiness no matter what. The CIRCLE OF MOTHERHOOD was also supported by the launch of limited edition tin can designs by 4 well-known Lebanese mothers who are also well known artists.

Creative Execution

We crafted 14 short-online pieces of content highlighting 14 different mothers from different stages of motherhood, different walks of life, and from regions covering the entire territory of Lebanon. Every week we posted on the brand’s Facebook page one piece content of around 2 minutes following the different stages of motherhood from our very first mom who was pregnant up until a great-grand mother that oversaw a typically large Lebanese family. The first of the 14 videos was launched on December 15th 2016 and the last piece of content will be symbolically released on Mother’s day 2017: March 21st.

The results proved that the time had come for a paradigm shift in perception when it comes to the roles of mothers in Lebanon. In a country of 4 million we were able to generate in the first seven weeks: - 5.4 million impressions - 41k likes - 900+ shares on the pieces of content posted by the brand - 700+ comments on the pieces of content posted by the brand with a 97% positive sentiment ratio The campaign is still ongoing.

Lebanon’s mainstream media platforms (TV mainly) are subject to conservative political, religious, and patriarchal restrictions and taboos. Picon is a cheese brand that stands for helping mothers raise happiness. For the first time we chose Facebook, a platform free from censorship, to display 14 non-scripted short documentaries highlighting 14 brave and inspiring mothers to freely share their stories of struggle and triumph of how they raised their families in Lebanon’s difficult environment. These stories managed to show Lebanese mothers that they are no longer alone and if they express themselves there are many mothers out there who will support them.

Mothers can accomplish great things on their own, but would accomplish greater things if they realize they can find support in one another. The only way to break the taboo imposed by Lebanon’s patriarchal society was to get mothers, from all walks of life, from all stages of motherhood, talking with confidence and positivity for the first time in a truly democratic public space: The brand’s Facebook page. Only through an un-scripted, real life testimonial approach, from a cast that was varied and representative of different mother profiles in Lebanon, would we be able to significantly convey our platform and message to our audience online. We banked on the positive feedback of the online community that would also amplify the conversation by acting as broadcasters of the CIRCLE. The more people would support the campaign through positive likes/comments/shares the more the Taboo would be broken.