2019 Winners & Shortlists

HIGHWAY GALLERY

BrandLOUVRE ABU DHABI
Product/ServiceINSTITUTIONAL
EntrantTBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryCreative Effectiveness
Idea Creation TBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement ABU DHABI MEDIA COMPANY Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production HERTZ RADIO Manila, THE PHILIPPINES
Production 2 RAMA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Synopsis.

The opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi in November 2017 saw a positive footfall. Two months later, the museum started suffering from the ‘Eiffel Tower Syndrome’ – becoming a touristic landmark that residents don’t visit. Emiratis were not interested in museums; they found them boring and archaic. Moreover, expats were not interested in another Louvre, “A Louvre without the Mona Lisa is not the Louvre” they said. Their prejudgment was unfounded. They didn’t know the artworks it displays, or the story it tells, or its experience. In order to drive residents through its doors, Louvre Abu Dhabi needed to show its iconic art pieces but also its innovation and entertainment value. Learning from best practices in retail industry, we gave residents a sample of what they were missing out on. But how do we sample a museum? The museum consists of artworks that tell beautiful stories. Without their true context, the artworks lose their value. We launched the Highway Gallery. The first-ever roadside exhibition featuring 10 of the museum's magnificent masterpieces (from Van Gogh to Leonardo da Vinci) on giant 9x6meter frames. These were placed as billboards over 100km on Sheikh Zayed Road - UAE's busiest highway with an average of 12,000 cars commuting daily – that leads to Louvre Abu Dhabi. But neither the size of the exhibition, nor the choice of the artworks, was enough to sample the museum. We needed to give drivers a sneak-peak into the artworks with their relevant stories. We partnered with The Abu Dhabi Media Company and using old FM transmitters technology in a new way, we synchronized the frequencies of the 3 most popular radio stations. As cars drove by the frames, the FM devices synchronized and instantaneously broadcasted the relevant story behind each art piece on their car radio. For those with their radios switched off, we made sure they tuned in with introductory and reminder messages, along the Sheikh Zayed Road. This innovative use of both radio and outdoor media was rewarded with successful returns for the business, the brand and the country: Museum visits: +160,000 visitors* in one month - almost matching the opening month numbers, in the absence of all opening events. Museum culture: 12,000 average cars** reached daily. 100+ kilometers from Dubai to Abu Dhabi covered with 900+ square meters of art - making art part of the UAE's background. 1,180% increase in mentions volume*** - making the museum part of people's conversations. 31 million Louvre Abu Dhabi Social Impressions***, going from 330K impressions in only fifteen days. Free regional and global coverage - CNN called the gallery “first of its kind in the world”, Lonely Planet wrote “Abu Dhabi became a lot more interesting”, and The National called it “Highway to Heaven”. Media resuscitation: The tech and media combination is currently under consideration by government bodies to use it as a warning system that provides live traffic and safety alerts to passengers. *Nielsen, Visitors Barometer, April 2018. **Abu Dhabi Department of Transport, 2017. ***Crimson Hexagon, April, 2018.

Credits

Name Company Role
Walid Kanaan TBWA\RAAD Chief Creative Officer
Fouad Abdel Malak TBWA\RAAD Executive Creative Director
Manuel Borde TBWA\RAAD Executive Creative Director
Brittany Sinde TBWA\RAAD Copywriter
Clayton Needham TBWA\RAAD Digital Art Director
Alex Pineda TBWA\RAAD Copywriter / ACD
Joe Lahham TBWA\RAAD General Manager/MD
Angie Deliva TBWA\RAAD Account Director
Albane Valtier TBWA\RAAD Account Executive
Remie Abdo TBWA\RAAD Head of Strategy
Rouba Asmar TBWA\RAAD Head of Production
Camilo Rojas TBWA\RAAD Motion Designer
Romy Abdelnour TBWA\RAAD Corporate Communications Director
Tony Hertz Hertz Radio Director
Sagar Mirchandani RAMA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED Project Director
Wafa Tajdin RAMA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED Producer
Amirah Tajdin RAMA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED Director
James Addey RAMA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED Director Of Photography
Ameya Gupta RAMA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED Editor
Abdullah Dayem RAMA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED Radio Technical Lead
Mickdad Abbas RAMA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED Road Safety Specialist
Saad Khan RAMA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED Deployment lead
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