Fight terror with love. Kuwait-based telecom operator Zain had a powerful message against terrorism this Ramadan. At a time when suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism have amplified concerns across the world, the video advocates a message of love and fight the fear.
The video begins with multiple stories at once — a militant preparing a suicide bomb, somewhere else a man and woman prepare for their wedding, in another situation a grandfather plays with a child, and then in a completely different one, children in a classroom.
A child’s voiceover plays in the backdrop with some heart touching messages including “I will tell God everything… that you’ve filled the cemeteries with our children and emptied our school desks….” The video features some of the actual bomb victims along with Hussein al-Jasmi, an Emirati pop star, in a chorus urging people to respond to anger with kindness, and violence with mercy.
It ends on a positive note showing a happy wedding and cheerful children dressed in white. ‘We will encounter their hatred with songs of love’, the video concludes.
Ramadan, or the Holy Month of fasting and abstinence, is the most important time of the year in all Muslim countries around the world. As the diaspora grows, considering this community is forecast to grow faster than the world’s population as a whole, marketers and brands are taking notice. They realize they have a role to play.
Many dub Ramadan the super bowl of the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region. There are many reasons for this, primarily being the unmatched significance that the month has for this region. It presents a once-a-year opportunity for brands to leave a positive mark in a consumer’s lives, when people are in a comparatively more receptive state of mind.
For a marketer to associate with an issue as grave as this, is never easy. Zain too has paid the price in a manner of speaking. The video went viral within just hours of launch. It had registered over two million views on Zain’s YouTube page and more than 4,000 shares on Facebook. Some applauded its efforts to beat terrorism using creativity but some shamed the company for using bombing victims for marketing gains.
All said and done, knowing the serenity and giving nature of the month, a powerful message such as this definitely strikes a chord among all and leaves an imprint in the minds of people.
