RETURNING HEROES
REGIONAL WINNERS REVEAL HOW THEY WON AT CANNES.
CAMPAIGN: Highway gallery CLIENT: The Louvre Abu Dhabi AGENCY: TBWA/Raad Dubai LIONS: Gold (Outdoor); Silver (Media); 2 x Bronze (Media; Radio & Audio)
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER: Walid Kanaan EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Fouad Abdel Malak ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Alex Pineda COPYWRITER: Brittany Sinde ART DIRECTOR: Clayton Needham HEAD OF PRODUCTION: Rouba Asmar STRATEGIC PLANNING DIRECTOR: Remie Nehme MEDIA COMPANY: Abu Dhabi Media TECHNICAL PRODUCTION: Rama International RADIO PRODUCTION: Hertz Radio
What was the work about?
Louvre Abu Dhabi wanted to bring its iconic masterpieces closer to the people, beyond the beautiful museum architecture and its grand opening almost a year ago. This region’s museum culture is in its infancy and it can be quite a challenge, considering there are so many faster-paced entertainment destinations competing for visitor numbers. So building excitement among residents at a time when the novelty factor was wearing out was critical to ensure attendance and share of voice in media and PR beyond the opening buzz period.
Why do you think it won?
Turning the highway from Dubai to Abu Dhabi into an interactive driver experience drove Louvre Abu Dhabi’s social impressions, from 330,000, 15 days prior to the Highway Gallery installation, to a whopping 31,000,000+, 15 days after. This idea gave radio and outdoor combined a new lease of life and turned an otherwise dull 100+ km journey into a voyage of art and cultural discovery.
What was the team’s reaction?
It was a journey as intense as the creation and approval of the actual idea, but unfolding in a few days instead of months. At first we were confident, then we felt fearful the judges would see it more as a radio stunt than an interactive outdoor, then we felt the opposite, fearing we’d not be rewarded for either. Finally, we experienced relief and elation as it picked up four Cannes Lions across multiple categories.
What next?
This gives ultimate proof that genuine work that comes from actual briefs or actual clients, worked on by the most passionate team out there, gets rewarded justly. Collaboration is the new name of the game and without an integrated offering and lots of “cohones” from all the departments in equal measure, you won’t get anywhere far for your clients or your agency. The client is energised and is looking for his next “Highway Gallery”, the team feels that their hard work has paid off and is hunting for their next Lion and the Agency gets to say that what we do works and gets you results.
Manuel Rabaté, Museum Director:
“Highway Gallery was perfectly aligned with Louvre Abu Dhabi’s idea to provoke encounters between people and art, even outside of its walls, on the street. Art is everywhere, accessible to all and invites people to drive to the museum, literally. The win of a Gold Lion is a great proud moment for the full Louvre Abu Dhabi team.”