Branded entertainment is allowed in Lebanon, several TV shows such as The Voice foster people participation.

While there are some restrictions on user content on TV, i.e. religious censorship, there are no legal restrictions to content communicated online.

We faced two major challenges when it came to produce all four Original Story TVCs (1 of 45 seconds (online introduction) and three of 90 seconds): Recreating with absolute accuracy the Lebanese Bekaa valley/Monastery life settings of the late 19-century, and achieve the best possible production quality with only a total budget of USD 330,000.

The production team set out on a nation wide search to find the perfect locations to shoot the monastery knowing that Lebanon knows no laws for the preservation of traditional/historical real estate, making it difficult to find untouched hundred-year-old architectures as well as non polluted surroundings. After finding the close to ideal location, the production team engaged on a massive undertaking to recreate the mood and feel of the 19th century lifestyle of secluded Jesuit monks. The entire real estate location, exterior walls /windows/courtyard and its entire interior, had to be stripped down of any modern elements. In regards to props and set design, the set designers and art directors had to recreate from scratch almost all elements shown in the TVCs, from the bottles used, hen house, bed room furniture, dining room etc.

Furthermore, to complement and respect the more than 150-year-old aura of the setting recreated, all wardrobes had to be recreated in accordance to the requirements of the Jesuit fashion of the time. One of the art directors was generous enough to lend us his great-grand father’s 19th century hunting tools to make the hunter’s attire more believable. All extras that played the role of peasants are Bekaa valleys inhabitants who still live as if in 1898.

Finally we contracted two experienced French actors in order to preserve the realism of this culture clash between foreign and local priests.

We were fortunate enough to use the client’s vast vineyards for all outdoor scenes, however a significant amount of post production was required to clean off the many 20th century buildings erected nearby in the last 50 years.

The second obstacle was to achieve the best production quality within the limited budget we had. We contracted a Lebanese production house as opposed to the European candidates, as they managed to best grasp the local/historical insights required, but as well the cinematography team contracted had achieved world class work for Lebanese feature films in the past.

Although we told a 19th century story, we opted for the extraordinary quality generated by the Arri Alexa digital camera. We wanted the audience of today to witness a 19th century story through 21st century mediums and image quality had to stand from all the great work that is currently being done. No efforts and sacrifices were spared to bring this story back to life.

Early results show the campaign achieved its main goal: To reposition Chateau Ksara as the original wine of Lebanon in the hearts and minds of its core consumers but also amongst an important new segment: the youth.

The microsite, so far, generated significant traffic with more than 570,000 interactions while Facebook reached 2.5 million friends of fans. Interactions started to generate quality user generated content making Chateau Ksara one of the first regional brands to allow users from across different age groups to own a stake in its story.

The campaign received widespread coverage from bloggers praising its storytelling approach.