Empty Plates.
In Ramadan 2022 the UAE Government Media Office put blank number plates on 300 cars across the UAE, then revealed the stunt as an invitation to charity plate auctions for the 1 Billion Meals drive.
- Brand
- UAE Government Media Office
- Market
- UAE
- Region
- GCC
- Year
- 2022
The challenge
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives' 1 Billion Meals campaign needed large donations within Ramadan. In the UAE, rare number plates sell for millions and are watched closely, while hunger goes largely unnoticed.
The idea
Saatchi & Saatchi turned the country's appetite for rare plates into a fundraiser. Over seven days, 300 cars drove and parked around the UAE wearing plates with no number at all, which set off speculation online and got some of them towed by police. Once curiosity peaked, the media revealed the cause, and targeted online content and direct invitations steered wealthy bidders to the Most Noble Number charity auctions, where the empty plate was offered alongside other special numbers, with every dirham going to hunger relief.
Results
- AED 164 million ($43.8 million) raised from more than 560 special number plates at the Most Noble Number charity auctions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, according to Campaign Middle East; the agency's award entries credit the campaign with driving the auctions
- $2 million raised from the empty number plate itself, according to the agency's One Show 2023 entry
- 164 million meals funded across 50 countries, according to the same entry
- $4.7 million in earned media value and coverage on 12 international news networks, according to the agency's Dubai Lynx 2023 entry
Case study source: Campaign Middle East Source ↗
