The Face of Mudhi.
For Founding Day, stc used generative AI to let Saudi women put their own faces on Mudhi Al-Dahlawi, a historical poet whose likeness was never recorded, producing thousands of personal films and posters.
- Brand
- stc
- Agency
- VML
- Market
- Saudi Arabia
- Region
- Saudi Arabia
- Year
- 2025
The challenge
The campaign centred on Mudhi Al-Dahlawi, described by the agency as a warrior poet whose verses are linked to the Ardah and to the Battle of Al-Rass. No image of her survives, while men of her time are widely pictured, and stc wanted to honour the women who shaped the nation.
The idea
VML shot Mudhi's story in February 2025, framing every shot so a new face could be swapped in later, then opened a nationwide digital casting call ahead of Founding Day. Women uploaded a photo and generative AI placed their face into the film, returning a personalised version and poster ready to share. Instead of one hero film on repeat, thousands of versions ran, and a gallery of the posters was shown on stc's campus.
Results
- About 20.2 million views and more than 22.9 million impressions on Founding Day, according to the agency's Dubai Lynx entry
- More than 2,300 personalised films and posters generated, according to the same entry
Case study source: Dubai Lynx 2026 entry (Love the Work) Source ↗
