15% of homes in the Middle East are homes with divorced parents.

But remarriage remains a cultural taboo for both women and men alike.

For Home Centre, a leading home and furniture retailer,
we wanted to show that step dads who step up, are the ones who make up broken homes.


The film tells the story of a child who goes through the stages of fear, disgust, angst, and confusion against an evil creature who is in his home, intruding into his life, who is going to rob him of his mother’s love, the warmth of his home, and everything that he holds dear.

But through the course of the film, we see that the child’s views about that creature changes over a period of months, and he finally accepts the creature - his stepdad.

The film ends with a message - stepdads are the dads who step up.

While studying children's drawings from how they saw their stepdads, when they first met them, we saw many drawings of monsters, creatures, aliens and otherworldly nearly grotesque figures.

To share our pov in support of remarriages in the Middle East and to capture attention, we chose to show step dads as the otherworldly creatures most children first saw them as.


The film tells the story of a child who goes through the stages of fear, disgust, angst, and confusion against an evil creature who is in his home, intruding into his life, who is going to rob him of his mother’s love, the warmth of his home, and everything that he holds dear.

But through the course of the film, we see that the child’s views about that creature changes over a period of months, and he finally accepts the creature - his stepdad.

The film ends with a message - stepdads are the dads who step up.

The film sparked a new conversation around remarriage previously unheard of in media across the Middle East.


The film earned love from media:

“Shifting perceptions of remarriage in the Arab world.” (Coffee with America)

“Normalizes non-traditional families in a touching spot.” (Shots)

“An emotive metaphor redefines step dads.” (The Stable Australia)

“Takes on the challenges of remarriage.” (Lovin Dubai)

“A gap that needed to be addressed. And Home Centre stepped up.” (Branding in Asia)

“Really sweet and moving.” (Vimeo Staff Pick Editors)

And it was effective in attracting attention and time from people:

$1.9 million earned media

130+ million cross platform views

95% positive sentiments

90% view through rate