2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

Our film starts with our hero standing first in a long line in what appears to be some kind of governmental institution. They are all waiting for the teller at the window who’s absent for some reason. We can tell it’s pretty hot because everyone is visibly fanning themselves with the documents they’re holding in their hands. The teller finally arrives and mercifully turns on a fan placed in front of our hero. The fan blows cool air outwards hitting our hero smack in the face, he’s elated and closes his eyes in delight. Suddenly, all the people standing behind him appear to cough and in unison they shuffle away from our hero to avoid the dandruff blowback. Our hero looks behind him and realizes what’s happening and is embarrassed. A simple super saying “DON’T LET DANDRUFF MAKE A JOKE OUT OF YOU” appears revealing what happened to the viewers.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

People in MENA go to extensive lengths to look their best. But they believe their good image can be demolished with a single flake of dandruff because everyone will shame them about them being unhygienic. As a result, they avoid messages about dandruff at almost superstitious levels, like Friday the 13th or black cats, for fear of being associated with it. We decided the best way to overcome the dandruff taboo was to help them have a good laugh about it, especially for the core target audience of youth who express themselves through humour. "62% in KSA – 74% in UAE are ‘entertainment networkers’ who create and share humorous content." GWI 2019, MENA Region To tap into this fear in a light-hearted way that the consumers will watch willingly, we freed them from the taboo of dandruff by leveraging the comedy they love, on the platforms where they share it.

Tell the jury about the casting process.

One of the most important elements in creating our campaign was the casting process. We looked for actors who’s faces were unique and memorable and not overly used. Following a stringent casting process involving several casting agencies, we uncovered this gem of a man!