2022 Winners & Shortlists

NISSAN SILENT RADIO

Short List
BrandARABIAN AUTOMOBILES COMPANY (AAC)
Product/ServiceNISSAN
EntrantTBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryUse of Radio & Audio as a Medium
Idea Creation TBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement OMD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production BKP MEDIA GROUP Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

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

The spot opens with an ASMR style voice asking for the listeners’ attention. The voice repeats the prompt to listen very carefully. But suddenly after, it goes silent. The listeners don’t listen to anything for a few seconds. Getting them out of a state of confusion, the narrator’s voice comes back to highlight that if the listener heard any sounds from the vehicle, it indicates that it’s time to get the car checked. The spot ends with a call to action for the listeners to take their car to the nearest Nissan AAC Service and get it checked free of charge. Similar audio spots point the listeners at specific sounds coming from their cars, indicating potential malfunctions - like the brake pads sounds, drive belt sounds, wheel bearing sounds or the drive shaft sound. The spot also highlights how the sound can change based on how the car is driven.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

The UAE has the highest number of cars per capita in the GCC region, with 540 cars present for every 1000 people in the country. The car is no less than a partner for the drivers and their lives, quite literally, depend on their cars, whether it is for daily commute to work or for adventures with friends & family. Car service is looked at as a ‘necessary evil’, a forced activity that is a speed breaker to the smooth running of their everyday life. However, with many road accidents in the country happening because of mechanical issues, it is important to raise awareness for preventive maintenance. Nielsen’s UAE Radio Audience Measurement revealed that 93% of the UAE population tuned into radio every week and use of music apps while driving is on the rise. That’s why audio was chosen as the lead medium to drive awareness to the issue.

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

RADIO SPOT SCRIPT: - Listen to this… - Listen very carefully… - SFX: no sound, blank (maybe low white noise sound) - If you heard any odd sounds from your vehicle, it’s probably time you got it checked. - Bring your Nissan to your closest Arabian Automobiles service center and have it checked by experts, free of charge. - Call 800NISSAN to book your appointment today. OTHER SCRIPTS (SPOTIFY / ANGHAMI) BRAKE PADS: - Listen to this… - Listen very carefully… - If you hear this noise from your car: - (Wheel screeching/grinding)… - Then your brake pads are most likely worn out and need changing. - Your car could be sending you warning sounds you shouldn’t ignore. - Bring your Nissan to your closest Arabian Automobiles service center and have it checked by experts, free of charge. - Call 800NISSAN to book your appointment today. DRIVE BELT: - Listen to this… - Listen very carefully… - If you hear this noise from your car: - (Clunking sound)… - Then your drive belt may be loose or worn out. - Your car could be sending you warning sounds you shouldn’t ignore. - Bring your Nissan to your closest Arabian Automobiles service center and have it checked by experts, free of charge. - Call 800NISSAN to book your appointment today. WHEEL BEARINGS / TIRES: - Listen to this… - Listen very carefully… - If you hear this noise from your car: - (Groaning/rumbling sound)… - And it gets louder the faster you drive… - Your tires or wheel bearings probably need replacing. - Your car could be sending you warning sounds you shouldn’t ignore. - Bring your Nissan to your closest Arabian Automobiles service center and have it checked by experts, free of charge. - Call 800NISSAN to book your appointment today.

Explain how the work innovatively used the radio / audio medium.

Being a very heavy listeners’ market, radio is a part of the media mix for almost all the automotive campaigns in the UAE. However, the campaigns are mostly limited to sales or promotional communication and even for aftersales, the communication is typically about service camps or offers. With Silent Radio, it was the first time that a brand leveraged silence in a radio / audio spot to draw a driver’s attention to their car and look for any probable issues that could hamper their driving experience. Not limiting it to radio as a medium, we also leveraged popular music apps like Spotify & Anghami. With our initiative, we encouraged the drivers to pay more attention to their car, making their driving more involved in the process. To get guesswork & confusion out of the equation, we created spots that played what sounds they should be looking for in their cars.

Credits

Name Company Role
Walid Kanaan TBWA\RAAD Chief Creative Officer
Joe Lahham TBWA\RAAD Managing Director
Jennifer Fischer TBWA\RAAD Chief Innovation Officer
Georges Kyrillos TBWA\RAAD Creative Director
Christopher Ghorayeb TBWA\RAAD Associate Creative Director
Bhaskar Bateja TBWA\RAAD Planning Director
Mira El Fil TBWA\RAAD Designer
Nour Christidi TBWA\RAAD Copywriter
Pia Haddad TBWA\RAAD Copywriter
Ian Carvalho TBWA\RAAD Brand Leader
Richard Rao TBWA\RAAD Senior Account Manager
Georges Oghgassian TBWA\RAAD Account Executive
Marianne Sargi TBWA\RAAD Head of Production
Alia Fakha TBWA\RAAD Producer
Romy Abdelnour TBWA\RAAD PR & Communications
Ezzat Habra TBWA\RAAD Traffic
Naveen Madurakariyan TBWA\RAAD Traffic
Rim Darazi OMD Media Planning
Tatiana Boustani OMD Media Planning
Saleh Ghazal OMD UAE Media Placement
Paoula Abou Sleimane OMD Media Placement
Gabriel Salame OMD Media Placement
Mohammad Abdel Razzak OMD Media Placement
Gina Maayeh OMD Media Placement
Lilian Rihani BKP Group Producer
Joe Najm - Sound Engineer / Sound Designer
Olivia Brent - Voice Over Talent

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