ABOUT THE INSIGHT:

15% of homes in the Middle East do not have a father.

But single moms, like me, remain a cultural taboo in Arab society.

Often, seen as having failed at being good wives to their husbands.

Never shown in advertising in the Middle East.

Home Centre, a home furniture retailer, challenged that taboo.

On Father’s Day.

A film featuring real people, NOT actors, showed children sharing tributes in what seemed like yet another Father’s Day ad.

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ABOUT THE TREATMENT:

It was key to ensure we had REAL single moms and their kids playing themselves in their own homes. There would be NO actors case in roles.

Real insights, emotions and reactions of children would make this film genuine.

Real moments and interactions between the moms and children would make the reveal more believable.

Throughout the filming, we needed to flow with the camera too in order to also be natural. We got closer to the moms and their kids. When they moved, held, touched, interacted with each other, we followed them. It gave us a very immediate way of telling our story.

An original soundtrack, “A Mother’s Journey” was composed with a melancholic positivity to it and a story within it.

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ABOUT THE PRODUCTION:

For Home Centre, with retail stores being forced to shut down due to COVID-19, budgets had come to an absolute halt; just like for all retailers in the Gulf.

The brand had a low budget of $25,000 (Director and DOP fees: Pro bono owing to the topic, Production costs including crew and incentives for single moms to give their time: $10,000, Lighting and equipment rentals: $10,000, Post production and editing: $5,000).

To bring this to life during lockdowns, the easy way out of casting actors to pretend to be single moms was not taken.

Instead, the challenge of casting real single moms, who would be willing to be on film for such a taboo, was taken on.

Next, as Gulf studios were shut and first-choice locations weren't open for shoots, we had to film organically on-the-go, without prep, in real homes of the single moms themselves (i.e. $0 location costs).

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ABOUT THE AMPLIFICATION:

Taking on a cultural taboo immediately triggered 50% negative reactions from conservative sections of Arab society.

But Home Centre expected it - and did even more.   

Partnering with leading Arab image banks, algorithms were changed, so when people searched for terms related to fathers or families, images of single moms with kids showed up.

“How to Mom & Dad” videos were created featuring single moms doing things Arab dads do.

Career Workshops with certified coaches helped with career mapping and growth.

Most homes have name plates on doors, in the name of the man in the household. Challenging that norm, Home Centre created name plates for single moms.

These name plates could also be customized online.

Tributes from kids of all ages were invited for their moms who double up as dads.

That were then put onto Gifts for single moms in-store.

As well as online.

Inspired by the brand’s acts, key influencers joined in to support the initiative.

The idea travelled across the region earning positive word of mouth, and it travelled the world too, as the first idea from the Middle East to tackle the taboo of showing single moms in advertising.

It impacted culture, it improved the brand's perception and it influenced business growth.

Importantly, it did something no brand has done before for Arab single moms - give them the stage and the platform to be noticed by the world, and has set a new precedence in communications in the Middle East region - one that'll be immortal.