2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

THE MAN WHO NEVER GOT ANYTHING BACK

Short List
BrandEMIRATES NBD SAUDI ARABIA
Product/ServiceMAZEED CASHBACK CREDIT CARD
EntrantMOMENTUM SAUDI ARABIA Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
CategoryFiction & Non-Fiction Films up to 5 minutes
Idea Creation MOMENTUM SAUDI ARABIA Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
Media Placement MOMENTUM SAUDI ARABIA Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
PR MOMENTUM SAUDI ARABIA Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
Production THE INDUSTRY.FILM Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
Additional Company HEDGEHOG Beirut, LEBANON

Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

Saudi Arabia's financial category is filled with product-first and offer-heavy advertising across channels, especially films. So, for Emirates NBD, a relatively new bank in Saudi Arabia, to promote its credit card, we didn't do yet another ad. Instead, we created a short film featuring a fictional character; a generous (albeit peculiar) man in a thankless and loveless world (a symbolism of how Saudi banks often treat customers). And through earning their time and attention, we earned acquisitions.

Background

Emirates NBD is a leading bank in the UAE. But it was a relatively new bank in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s advertising landscape, particularly films, tend to be packed with generic credit card offers, from banks and financial institutions, that flood the market. Emirates NBD was launching its new cashback credit card called ‘Mazeed’ in Saudi Arabia. As a challenger brand in the market, Emirates NBD needed to do something banks don’t do to stand out and earn attention and awareness, and drive acquisitions.

Describe the creative idea

The Man Who Never Got Anything Back", is a short film, set in Saudi Arabia, that follows the life in yet another day of a fictional character from Saudi Arabia, as he gives or tries to give to others around him, but gets nothing back; until the end when he uses his Emirates NBD Mazeeed Credit Card, remembers what it's like to smile and breaks the fourth wall!

Describe the strategy

There are many times in life that you give to someone else, but never quite get something back. The same goes for the money you spend with banks, as you never quite get anything back. So, we wanted to show the joy of Emirates NBD’s cashback offer by showing the joy of getting something back after a life without getting anything back. And we wanted to dramatize that archetype through our short film.

Describe the execution

We created a fictional character in Saudi Arabia to break through the credit card advertising clutter. He’s a peculiar yet well-meaning man in a cold and thankless world that ignores him; symbolically representing life… and banks. The film’s cold look aims to embody his world’s reality. In the most “un-Saudi” banking film, we go through his life in yet another day, observing the many instances when he, generously, gives something to someone else… Helping hold the elevator door open for an elderly woman. Doing the midnight shift to help his boss with urgent work that the latter needed. Stopping on the highway back home to feed a lost goat. Cooking pasta (albeit an absolutely bland one) for his wife. Putting money into a vending machine to get a snack, as he wanders alone at the mall. Across all those instances, we see him get nothing back. Until one transformational moment…

Describe the outcome

The film engaged thousands actively and increased acquisitions (see confidential information for more).

Credits

Name Company Role
Dany Azzi Riyadh Executive Creative Director
Abboud Ayyach The Industry.film Executive Producer
Yara Ali Bdeir Assi The Industry.film Senior Producer
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Film Director
Shadi Chaaban The Industry.film DOP and Cinematographer
Claude Abboud Momentum Saudi Arabia General Manager
Mario Atallah FP7 McCann Agency Producer
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Creative Director
Nidal Bou Hamdan Momentum Saudi Arabia Art Director
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Writer
Paul Kerbage Momentum Saudi Arabia Account Director
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Reine Razzouk The Industry.film Assistant Director
Sayed Abou Haidar Sayed Abou Haidar The Industry.film Head of Production
Jessica Hanna The Industry.film Production Manager
Rawaa Fouladkar The Industry.film Production Assistant
Ivana Touma The Industry.film Production Coordinator
Carlo Kassabian The Industry.film Art Director
Lamitta Hamawi The Industry.film Assistant Art Director
Jessica Saber The Industry.film Wardrobe Stylist
Tracy T The Industry.film Wardrobe Assistant
Nader Sidani The Industry.film Hairdresser
Diala Chaaban The Industry.film Make-up Artist
Noha Hatoum The Industry.film Veil Artist
Karen Rahme Hedgehog Editor
Khalil Abu Rouss Hedgehog Grading
Hussein Dia The Industry.film Runner
Jonathan Saqqal The Industry.film Focus Puller
Solange Elias The Industry.film Casting Director