2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the radio or audio execution or campaign.

How do we trick small children into eating? With theatre and show, we pretend that their spoons are aeroplanes, boats and trains travelling into their mouths. With this insight, each radio spot brings to life a genre – horror, tragedy or drama – to show that when these tricks fail and the food ends up on the children’s laps, these big messes don’t have to be big dramas/tragedies/horrors because baby clothes are on sale and can easily be replaced at Babyshop. The spots are delivered as dramatic narrations, and produced to sound like scenes from big blockbuster films. But there are constant references to the things parents do and say. Finally, the joke is revealed when the baby laughs and we see our drama is not a blockbuster film, it’s just dinner time.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

In the UAE, heavy emphasis is placed on your appearance, and babies and children aren’t left out of the judgement. Here, children always have to be spotless.

Script. Provide the full to radio/audio script in English.

FVO: We had almost reached the station on that fateful morning. Four successful train trips in and out of that damp… hole were completed and we were… naively attempting a fifth, when… as they say… the rails came off. Out of nowhere, the tunnel closed off just as the train tried to enter. And suddenly… we were smashed violently against a wall of persistence. Bits and pieces flew everywhere. The sight was… heartbreaking. CHILD: Giggles What was once the cheerful world of Thomas and his friends, was now the battlefield of spaghetti bolognaise and mushy peas. Fortunately, at Babyshop, new Thomas the Tank Engine shirts start at only 20 dirhams, so big messes don’t have to be big tragedies.