2022 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Social & Influencer?

A global movement to end plastic waste, an innovative technology making use of this waste, and a must have classic fashion product, were all pillars of our campaign. And how else to promote the adidas Stan Smith with Prime Green technology other than endorsing the famous Egyptian puppet Abla Fahita to promote the product and pour her knowledge to the Egyptians in the most engaging way? Using Abla Fahita as a fashion icon was a definite turnaround, with Abla’s absurd taste in fashion, it was only catchy to see the Abla in an adidas photoshoot, featuring the classic Stan Smith.

Background

adidas has been adopting sustainable production technologies for years now, and now the time has come to promote the one and only Stan Smith in its new sustainable attire being made from plastic waste. The global campaign has taken green literal by endorsing green Disney characters to be featured promoting the line. However, on a local front, how can we promote not only the product but also the cause behind it in Egypt where there is very little awareness about pollution? Our story had to resonate with the Egyptians and their behaviors to create awareness about the cause, promote our line, and encourage sustainable purchases.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

Very rarely have we seen Egyptian public figures featured in global brands’ photoshoots, let alone one of the most controversial characters in Egypt and the Middle East, Abla Fahita. Abla Fahita is Egypt’s funniest and most famous puppet, whose natural habitat is social where it all started. With the Abla’s witty and bold character, she was the best fit for our campaign while using her in her element yet portraying her differently in a way that was not familiar to the audience. And to create the desired conversation, we launched our campaign over 3 phases: Teaser – where we had Abla Fahita dye her hair green teasing for the next upcoming hot project that everyone would anticipate. Reveal – coming out with a unique and bold fashion photoshoot featuring Abla Fahita in adidas wear and of course the classic Stan Smith. Sustenance – revealing a witty interview with Abla Fahita

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Believing in the power of social, given our target audience, the youth who are 41% of the population, known to spend an average of 7H 36M a day surfing the internet from social media consumption to online gaming to watching videos, 79.9% of whom are on Instagram, hence, our campaign rested there. In order to reach the widest audience, we borrowed from the equity of Abla Fahita and bet on the Abla’s publicity among the Egyptians being a universal figure whom they love to watch, hence, our choice to go on the Abla’s social media platforms prior to revealing on adidas accounts. Not only so, but also using Abla Fahita’s very unique character allowed us to create a journey that would create a conversation about what to anticipate from her.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

A tempting teaser video, an interesting fashion photoshoot, a super witty Q&A, and a quick PR pickup were all communication assets that helped hyping our message during our one-month campaign rollout. Starting with the teaser video to grab the audience attention, the teaser stirred the social media and was picked up from the Abla’s fans. 5 days later, the photoshoot unveiled on Abla Fahita’s Facebook and Instagram to leverage on her followers’ base, followed by posting on adidas MENA accounts. Further emphasizing on our messaging, we launched an interview with Abla Fahita, a Q&A to reveal the campaign, highlight on the product and convey our sustainability message. Finally, our campaign was complemented with a decent PR pickup on the social media in awe of the photoshoot which hyped our campaign and messaging even more, let alone the instore displays that were fascinating seeing Abla Fahita on the windows!

List the results (30% of vote)

Seeing Abla Fahita on adidas digital and on-ground windows was a definite mind blow, and as unexpected as it was the engagement rate was a spike. Benchmarking against the usual interactions on adidas MENA social pages, the engagement rate exceeded the benchmark by 500% during the month of the launch. Not only so, by also the interactions rose by 220%. While the fascination with Abla Fahita featured on adidas was a turnaround, this was also reflected on the PR pickup given that 88% of the PR impressions from origin of 180,636,854 generated were from the media publishers among which the majority were organic.