Tesco's Digital Billboards Reveal Ramadan Meals as the Sun Goes Down

Tesco is marking the month of Ramadan in April with an innovative campaign about Iftar, the evening meal to signify the end of the daily fast. The campaign seeks to reach the fasting Muslim population in the UK at this key time of the year, in line with Tesco’s commitment to inclusion.

The campaign, which was created by BBH and developed in partnership with MediaCom, DOOH.com and specialist out of home agency Kinetic, as well as strategic equity, diversity & inclusion consultancy The Unmistakables, launches on 2nd April to coincide with the start of Ramadan.  

The digital out-of-home campaign shows empty plates filling up with food as the sun sets, signifying the Iftar meal eaten at the end of each day’s fast during Ramadan. The plates are held in hands over the slogan ‘Together this Ramadan’, with the line “in honour of everyone fasting, these plates only fill up as the sun goes down.”

Running on billboards in areas with high Muslim populations – including Brent in London and in Birmingham and Bradford – the campaign will remain on the digital screens for up to three hours as the sun sets, with no other ads running. The billboards face eastwards, with the sun setting behind and the creative fading in as the sun goes down, to accentuate the break of fast coinciding with sunset.

The out-of-home creative is combined with a social media drive sharing recipes and inspiration, as well as in-store executions around aisles stocking relevant products. The social campaign and in-store presence will build on the OOH message, offering practical and entertaining suggestions for ways to enjoy Iftar throughout the whole of Ramadan.

Working with The Unmistakables, BBH commissioned Khalil Musa, a photographer and a practising Muslim as well as food consultant Dina Macki, whose food is influenced by her middle eastern background. Part of the cast was selected from Muslim colleagues within the Race and Ethnicity Network at Tesco, who were also consulted throughout the campaign development.  

Alessandra Bellini, chief customer officer at Tesco said: “Ramadan is such an important time of year for the Muslim community. A time for reflection, families and communities coming together to enjoy great food. We are delighted to recognise the importance of Ramadan with our many Muslim customers and we hope this campaign gives some culinary inspiration for a delicious Iftar along the way.”

Helen Rhodes, ECD, BBH London, said: “Our creative ambition was simple, to create work that is not only representative but, also, gave a voice to our Muslim creative industry. Close collaboration with new creative partners, industry-leading inclusion experts at The Unmistakables, the Race and Ethnicity Network at Tesco and our friends at Mediacom and DOOH.com, underpinned by a willingness to listen and learn, made this possible, and drove the creation and development of this campaign from the get-go.” 

Asad Dhunna founder and chief executive officer of The Unmistakables, said: “It’s been a delight to work with Tesco and BBH to embed our trademarked inside out inclusion process into this campaign. Our team of inclusion consultants have been embraced with the end-to-end live learning we provide - right the way from planning and insight through to production and delivery. There’s a meme doing the rounds that brands are becoming better prepared for Ramadan than Muslims themselves, which is an indication of increasing cultural confidence amongst marketers and their agencies to represent a community that has so often been overlooked in the boardroom and on billboards. Long may it continue, inshallah”.