The idea was to reveal a more human and selfless side to the Almarai brand. One that is the exact opposite of greedy based on the insight that a growing number of Saudi mothers have been opting not to go for natural breastfeeding, and while the subject was deemed to be too private to be discussed in public, we thought if Almarai opens this conversation online in an engaging way, it will change the negative conversations, promote a positive act and showcase that when it comes to the wellbeing of its people; Almarai is willing to promote the substitutes to its products, hence, the idea: The Best Milk for Your Baby Cannot be Bought.

We produced a film with strong Arabic poetry, emotional footage between a mother and her newborn child, a religious association as a reason to believe and we closed it with a selfless message from Almarai.

Why Arabic Poetry:

Throughout their history, the Arab people have had strong emotional connections with Arabic poetry (the Arabic reality show “the Poet of the Millions” is as big as American Idol). We knew that it would only take poetic Arabic terms and rhymes to strongly bring the essence of the deep connection between a mother and her newborn child to life and get our target audience engaged.

Why a Religious Association:

We realized that being a deeply religious people, Saudis would always connect and feel engaged with a topic that was inspired by religion. God intended for newborns to be naturally breastfed and has stated this in the Holly Qur’an.

Awareness:

Within 1 week of the launch of the film, it has become the second most viral film worldwide across all categories based on the number of online interactions (according to Viral Video Chart). With over 36 Million views on Facebook, 7.8 million views on YouTube and 1.3 Million shares across twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

Impact:

Almarai’s Facebook page became the fastest growing page in the world for an FMCG brand, garnering over 10,000 new fans a day. This made Almarai the third most popular FMCG brand on Facebook, right after Nestle and P&G.

Engagement:

The hashtag #The_Best_Milk_Cannot_be_Bought had over 279 million impressions. There were more than 80,000 positive comments discussing the national pride in Almarai and the benefits of breastfeeding.

Amplification:

The topic shifted from a taboo to the #1 topic in Saudi. It was discussed across all major publications and experts were invited to talk on TV.