Most Read of 2023: The Middle East and Africa
Approaching the very end of 2023, it’s always interesting to see what’s caught everyone’s attention in the year gone by.
In this round up, we focus on the Middle East and Africa – a tale of two unique regions. The Middle East’s ambition, forward-thinking nature and creativity steeped in culture come to mind, and moving across to Africa, humour, vibrancy and a zest for life are produced in spades. Together, the region creates all manner of work in the form of campaigns, thought pieces, and interviews with talented people who are rearing to create the next big thing.
This year, the powerhouse countries of the UAE and South Africa are reigning strong as they take up the majority of this year’s most viewed work in the region. Join us to see which pieces, in particular, had people clicking time and time again to read more.
Heinz 'Ketch-Up & Down' Solves the Big Sauce Storage Conundrum
Upside down, right way up - which way do you store a bottle of ketchup?! As it turns out, people were baffled by the iconic Heinz ketchup packaging, leading to a question that’s been asked many times - which way up does the ketchup bottle stand? To solve the issue, in 2002, the global condiment brand made history with the introduction of the world’s first upside-down bottle. And what did people do? They stored it the wrong way around. Well this time, FP7 McCann Dubai wasn’t taking any chances and together with Heinz made a bottle with, you guessed it, a lid on both sides!
Shane Forbes once opened for Metallica with his metal band, Pestroy, and George Low once had an interesting conversation with the Dalai Lama. If that doesn’t make you want to know more about the duo executive creative directors at TBWA\Hunt Lascaris, I don’t know what will. With a shared office and love of cats, as well as sharing bad jokes and opposite styles, Forbes & Low have worked on spots for Standard Bank, MTN and Student Flights.
Understanding Gen Alpha – Who Are They and Why Do They Matter?
In this piece, Aubrey Morota-Guiruela, digital media planner at Mediaplus Middle East shares how focusing on millennials and gen z isn’t enough, we must plan for future target markets. “Who are they and what role do they play in the digital world?” she asks, as she explains that most of that target audience is currently under the age of 13. According to her, their digital proficiency has resulted in pursuits and pastimes that are focused on gaming, social networking, and online content creation. But we aren’t the experts, so we’ll leave it to her to tell you more.
Coca-Cola Middle East Brings Its Magic to the Movie Experience with 'Alexa, I See Coke' Voice Campaign
In partnership with WPP’s Open X unit with the creative development led by VMLY&R COMMERCE, Coca-Cola Middle East brought a little magic to the movies with this campaign. Saying the words, 'Alexa, I See Coke' when watching a movie featuring the beverage, meant that the Amazon virtual assistant would reply with a funny quip and send over a code to redeem a free fizzy drink. A win-win situation, if you ask us.
5 Minutes with… Nishant Shah
In this interview, Serviceplan Middle East’s executive creative director shares his journey in the industry. His experience working across Mumbai, Tokyo and Amsterdam made him understand why cultural context is key and why it’s important for creatives not to auto-correct themselves. Having worked on campaigns for Unilever, Nike and Red Bull, to name a few, we hear about his personal leadership style and why he tells creatives to “Scale your own mountain.”
Al-Futtaim IKEA Helps Couples Who Disagree Over Furniture with 'Couch Counselling'
Al-Futtaim IKEA and Impact BBDO came together to tackle relationship tensions with 'Couch Counselling', where professional relationship counsellors and therapists sat with couples to talk through disputes. As furniture decisions can lead to disagreements, it’s important to enjoy the shopping experience, as well as understanding your partner better. Focusing on improved communication in relationships, QR codes allowed couples to talk things out in a healthy and conducive way.
Style Guide: Aleah Gabrielle Lascano Paraiso on the Variety of Her Work
Aleah Gabrielle Lascano Paraiso grew up and studied in the Philippines before finding herself at The Film House in Qatar. In her current role, she’s a designer, creating illustrations for brands such as Land Rover, PUMA, the Qatari football team Al Duhail, OFF WHITE and many other significant brands. In this Style Guide feature, she talks through her personal process and delves deeper into the work she’s proud of.
Hardee's Shows Us What AI CAN’T Do with an unAImaginable Experiment
With AI on the tip of everyone’s tongues in 2023, it’s no surprise that when American burger chain Hardee’s and ‿ and us created an AI campaign, it would be one of the most read MEA stories on LBB this year. Hardee's prompted AI’s image-making tool DALL-E, to “imagine Hardee’s SUPER STAR burger”, and the results were, well, wacky. Intending to show that even AI couldn’t imagine the kind of burger this restaurant was cooking up, the human touch won out and viewers kept clicking to watch more.
Heinz’s Ketchup Bottle, Now With Two Lids
The press release features quite highly on the list, and here, we have the Behind the Work spot, delving deeper into the process. The FP7 McCann Dubai shared how they designed the product with two lids, the packaging and what the future of ketchup bottle design may look like, as well as the insight which informed this spot.
Accenture Song South Africa celebrated its awards and events success in this piece by showcasing which work won them 19 awards at the 2023 IAB Bookmarks. The most awarded work in South Africa, the most awarded work was Sanlam’s ‘LI:FE of Confidence’, and WESGRO’s ‘Play before you stay’.
