2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Cultural / Context information for the jury

When it comes to cyberbullying, the first offender is not the only one who’s to blame because hateful content can’t go far if it isn’t shared. In fact, it’s sharing, Liking, and commenting on hateful content on social media that make it spread like wildfire. That’s why – in a way – we’re all accomplices to cyberbullies. In 2018 alone, social media penetration in Saudi Arabia reached 91%. 32.4% of Saudi Arabia’s population consists of 0-14 year-old children, meaning a large number of social media users are very young.

Tell the jury about the art direction.

The visual is composed of real photos of people and composite 3D characters, rendered to look like hyper-realistic people engaging in bullying unknowingly. Each detail is crafted to create not just a striking ad, but a moving artistic composition with a message. We bring usually unseen behaviors related to social media to the forefront, and finally give them a face. Up close, we see a group of individuals, each reacting to a social media post in their own way. Their facial expressions and bodily gestures are typical of a bully. Every cast we photographed was used to create more than 6 different characters to portray a massive number of cyberbullies. All the small groups are linked together by a common individual and their phone, demonstrating how the tiniest action sparks even more cyberbullying. From a distance, a shape of a fiery smoke spreads rapidly, bringing destruction upon the bullied person.