Ramadan is a month of fasting from dawn to dusk, when people are encouraged to be more tolerant and united.

At an Iftar – an evening meal to break fast - we got six people from different walks of life to come together and do one simple thing: have a conversation. The only difference being that it would be done in the dark.

After speaking to each other during the meal and forming honest impressions of the people they were dining with, we turned on the lights revealing what everyone looked like, surprising them with how far off they had been, proving that it’s best not to judge a person based on their appearance.

As part of event, we persuaded Coca-Cola – a company built on branding – to unbrand itself too, to really help reinforce our message. These unbranded cans were distributed to the influencers, triggering viral content expansion.

We filmed the event in entire darkness. All dialogue was unscripted. No crew was allowed in the room to allow for a genuine conversation to unfold.

The documentation of it was put on Facebook and Youtube as a film at the beginning of Ramadan. With the help of (unpaid) influencers that were present at the table it quickly reached a wide audience sparking a reaction in the entire Middle East.

Within a week it was picked up by international media and celebrities across 200 countries. It struck a cord in many regions of the world, relating to their zeitgeists, whether it was the refugee situation in Europe, the presidential election in the US or the global fear of terrorism.

Unbranded Coca-Cola cans provoked mass media to report, while the influencers independently created more content reacting to people all around the world, inspiring them to open up to strangers.

1 – Outcomes/Awareness:

•Coca-Cola Brand Love increased +15% vs. 2014

•Coca-Cola’s brand equity of Bringing People Closer Together increased +39% vs. 2014

2 – Knowledge/Consideration:

•53.9 million impressions

•$30.7 million worth of PR and earned media

•25,600+ online articles were generated

•97% positive sentiments

•Coca-Cola Consumption Intent increased +51% vs. 2014

3 – Outputs/Business Results:

•AdWeek’s 2nd most viral videos (H1 2015)

•Featured on leading news and media platforms regionally and worldwide such as CNN, TIME, Mashable, Nasdaq, Fox, Huffington Post, Washington Times, Yahoo! Finance, becoming a trending topic regionally and globally.

•Endorsed by regional influencers and international celebrities

•Became part of conversations around US Politics with mentions such as: “Donald Trump needs to see this Coca-Cola spot!”

•Over 18 million YouTube views; 70% organic

•Coca-Cola’s 2nd most viewed video globally, ever

•35% engagement on Facebook and 33% on Twitter (global averages are around 1%)