Proof of Love
Flower Town
Issue 33 | December 2014
Agency
Impact BBDO Beirut
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Walid Kanaan Regional Creative Director Ali Zein Senior Art Director Georges Kyrillos Copywriter Chris Jabre
Date
February 2014
Background
Haret Hreik was a Hezbollah stronghold in a part of Beirut that had seen four suicide bombings in less than 6 months.
Flower Town was a florist located right at the heart of this 'Death Zone'. Their problem was recruiting new customers, who were reluctant to visit this insecure place.
Idea
With Valentine's Day approaching, the idea was to dare the men of Lebanon to visit Haret Hreik by challenging them,
"Would you die for your beloved?"
People were asked to come to Flower Town and buy a flower that had a green pin on it, proving they made the trip to Haret Hreik.
The insight behind the thinking was that showing off and masculine pride were fundamentals in the DNA of the typical Lebanese.
Outdoor, online and radio advertising launched the dare.
A Flower Town Facebook page was created so that people who dropped in on the shop to buy their flowers could check in and thus be seen to be fearless by the entire country.
Results
Within 48 hours, the campaign was the talk of the town on various media channels. Leading TV stations covered the story in their prime time news bulletins and influential bloggers took up the story.
The Flower Town Facebook page had 1,800 visitors in 3 days, which is something huge in Lebanon, let alone for a tiny shop in Haret Hreik.
Flower Town's annual sales increased by 30% in just one day day with people coming from all over Lebanon to prove their love.
Quoting the owners of the flower shop: "We've had to restock 3 times today" (Feb.14)
Our Thoughts
At Directory, we also manage the Big Won rankings and I think we worked out that a couple of years ago, despite New Zealand’s claims to the contrary, Lebanon was creatively the most successful country in the world.
As I have written (about Leo Burnett Beirut) on pages 96-97, the desperate desire of the everyday people to live as normally as possible is astonishing. For most of us, having a client situated right in the middle of a warzone would be too much of a problem. For the guys at Impact BBDO it was an opportunity.
I believe this has won a few minor awards. It deserves better.