Since Italia 90’, the Pharaohs have walked closely to the qualification line, only turning back when we were a few steps away. After suffering repeated heartbreaks, the World Cup had become an improbable dream, but one we continue having regardless. Anticipation stirs conversations months before every qualification round - by people and brands. A nation filled with hope spiced up with fear, involuntarily discussing predictions and calculating chances.

The brief was like any other: a world cup campaign encouraging people to cheer for Egypt, and offering value in return. Consumers are asked to make a team, and with each dedication to each member the whole team would get the same value back. Our challenge was to achieve cut-through while all the brands communicated the same message; cheer for Egypt. To achieve our objective, we changed the objective: don’t cheer for Egypt.

With a daring claim, came the obstacle of persuasion. We needed the correct ambassadors to be our main advocates for the movement. We handpicked individuals that are the stars of the season. From TV show hosts, to football commentators and even the national team players. If they supported the movement, wouldn’t you? In documentary form, their message was supporting that the football-conversations were the reasons behind the jinx, and to qualify, we needed to stop. It was essential for people to see the hashtag on outdoors across Egypt, and with an intrigued audience, we shifted the conversation online by releasing an official statement, stating what the movement’s code of conduct. With every brand fighting for a piece of the consumers mind, we took them by storm; brands overrode the hashtag, tuning heads and activating online conversations.