Despair: No More, By Nour Hamam

Air your dirty laundry

In Arabic ما تنشر غسيل الوسخ

Unfortunately that’s what sexual abuse survivors go through, Remi Akl, a Lebanese poet featured this informative video about survivors guilt about rape in collaboration with ABAAD, which stand for Zero tolerance to Sexual Exploitation & Abuse, is an UN ECOSOC accredited organisation that aims to achieve gender equality and end gender-based violence across the MENA region.

We NEVER talk about it. A powerful one-minute video gathered up to 85K likes and views on Instagram. It took a lot of courage to talk about it in our ME world. It was done by Leo Burnett MENA.

Remie shot to fame when her song “baklava” covered sexual harassment in the ME (Lebanon especially) which gathered 4 Million views.

In addition they further amplified the message with Lebanese/ French influencer Nour Arida who also covered this topic on her Instagram page to her TEN million followers.

She spoke about anti rape culture and took a strong stance about this topic, unlike her very glitzy and glamorous life as she portrays as a Lebanese model living in Paris.

The trending hashtag #NoBlameNoShame demanded stronger sanctions against the perpetrators of sexual abuse.

Another “shameful” campaign is TENA talking about menopause we label it as Age of despair.

سن اليأس

So TENA has changed the narrative to age of joy, courage and hope

In our Arabic language the word عرض refers to a woman’s value or honor, and the word refersيأس to despair. Why is it so shameful? Let’s start breaking stigmas around this.

The hashtag #DespairNomore aimed to break the taboos and spin it to a more positive light renaming it Renewal, courage and hope.

Both powerful videos deliver a purpose, Remie is a good fit to deliver this kind of Message as she has over 220 K followers on Instagram.

Picking the right “influencers” (for the lack of better word) can help amplify the message you are trying to deliver.

With TENA the “menopausal” women delivered a strong message also about what they are going through, indeed it is the age of renewal!

According to LBBI

The campaign follows an in-depth survey that gathered data from 600 Saudi women aged 40+ and revealed that over 81% of women in Saudi Arabia believe that the phrase Age of Despair needs to be changed and updated. 82% of women would prefer to use a new and more positive phrase in its place. With 36% of women surveyed experiencing urinary incontinence during menopause, TENA is committed to supporting and empowering women of the region to live their lives unimpeded by the condition.

The music-led campaign launches with the track ‘Despair No More’, originally composed for the campaign and sung by Arabic singer songwriter Ghalia, in partnership with Anghami Studios. The single will be released on Anghami, the leading music streaming platform in MENA, in a brand-first use of its new Radio Live feature.

This campaign was produced by Impact BBDO.

I must admit the powerful campaign had a very catchy soundtrack that was on full blast this morning.

This campaign picked up a Dubai Lynx award.

A few takeaways from the above:

Don’t be afraid to break stereotypes
Partner with a really strong voice like Remi, Nour Arida, and Ghalia.
Pick the right medium whether it’s YouTube or Instagram .
Strategic partnerships will help amplify the message (EX. Anghami).
Raise your voice and don’t be silent on causes that matter.
Flip the narrative with words.
Use puns and word play to change the scripts.
The #MeToo movement sparked debates in the MENA opening up conversations that weren’t spoken about previously.
Working with trusted names adds credibility
Ride on trending hashtags like #NoBlameNoShame and #Despair_No_More.
Encourage others to share their stories on social media through an anonymous helpline.