MENA creativity has entered its main character era. From AI-powered seat maps and blind football seats to seasoning-led fandoms and parking spots turned media space, the region’s boldest ideas are turning local insight into global conversation starters. These 10 campaigns showcase a creative industry blending culture, tech, humour and humanity with the kind of confidence that is becoming impossible for Cannes to ignore.
1. A campaign that transformed “housewife” into “woman of the house”
A year after launch, L’Oréal Paris’s ‘Sit Al Bait’ evolved from an advertising campaign into an educational initiative. Developed by FP7 McCann, McCann Paris, and Current Global MENAT, the idea reframed the Arabic term for ‘housewife’ by adding two letters, transforming it into ‘Woman of the House’. The revised term was later introduced into schools and Arabic-language institutions through educational materials. “It didn’t try to invent a new truth, it simply named one that already existed,” said Federico Fanti, FP7 McCann’s regional chief creative officer. The campaign has since generated more than 42 million video views and over 1,300 written responses from women across the region.
Campaign Information
Name: Sit Al Bait
Brand Name: L’Oréal Paris
Agencies: FP7 McCann, McCann Paris, Current Global MENAT
Production House: Not specified
2. Parkin rewards local shopping in Dubai through everyday parking behavior
Parkin, the largest provider of paid public parking facilities and services in Dubai, turned a friction point (parking) into a direct value exchange between drivers and neighborhood businesses. Developed by FP7 McCann, with production by No Garlic No Onions and PR led by Burson, the idea behind ‘Spots for Shops’ is disarmingly simple: spend locally, get your parking back. “Dubai is a car-first city, so the parking spot became our canvas,” says Federico Fanti, FP7 McCann’s regional chief creative officer. The campaign works by enabling drivers to validate their parking fees through the Parkin app by supporting neighborhood small businesses. Fifteen businesses, including Beirut Blendz, were included in the first wave.
Campaign Information
Name: Spots for Shops
Brand Name: Parkin
Lead Agency: FP7 McCann
Production Company: No Garlic No Onions
3. KFC: Om Bdr-12th Ingredient
When a viral TikTok moment showed Saudi food lovers sprinkling Srar Hail, a spicy seasoning by local cook Om Bdr, over KFC chicken, the fried chicken chain sprang into action. Most brands would have rushed to manufacture authenticity. Not KFC and TBWA\Raad. They decided to partner with Om Bdr, bottling her seasoning as the brand’s ‘unofficial 12th herb and spice’. As Derek Green, TBWA\Raad’s chief creative officer, explains: “After spotting Saudi TikTokers remixing KFC’s flavour, we set aside the Colonel and let a local icon rewrite the recipe, adding a 12th spice to prove local taste matters most.” Within three weeks, the limited edition menu item had sold out, as had Om Bdr’s own seasoning.
Name: Om Bdr-12th Ingredient
Brand Name: KFC
Lead Agency: TBWA\Raad
Production Company: Barry Kirsch Productions (BKP)
4. Visually impaired fans experience live football in hi-tech seats
For visually impaired football fans, much of the live match experience remains inaccessible. stc sought to change that with ‘The Blind Seats’, an initiative developed alongside Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sport that transformed key moments in football matches into haptic feedback and vibrations. Installed in stadiums, the specially designed seats allowed fans to physically experience the rhythm, intensity and emotion of the game as it unfolded. Reactions from participants were shared online as part of the campaign. “We believe football belongs to everyone,” said Firas Ghannam, executive creative director at VML Riyadh. “Seeing fans experience every moment, not just as spectators but as part of the action, was deeply moving.”
Campaign Information
Name: The Blind Seats
Brand Name: stc
Lead Agency: VML Riyadh
Production Company: Blue Elephant
5. Celebrating 103 years of boxing through evolving artistic styles
When The Ring digitized its archive spanning more than a century of boxing history, the publication chose not to celebrate the milestone with a conventional retrospective. Instead, Saudi Arabia’s BigTime Creative Shop created ‘The Ring: The Legacy Continues’, a handcrafted animated journey through the evolution of the sport, with each era rendered through a different artistic technique. Blending frame-by-frame animation, archival research, and contemporary storytelling, the film traces 103 years of fighters, rivalries, and cultural change. Guided by the voice of legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer, the project transforms static sporting history into a cinematic narrative that honors boxing’s past without becoming trapped in nostalgia.
Campaign Information
Name: The Ring: The Legacy Continues
Brand Name: The Ring
Lead Agency: BigTime Creative Shop
Production company: The Youth
6. IKEA puts smartphones to bed before their owners sleep
Rather than warning people about screen addiction with statistics or scare tactics, IKEA approached the problem with humor. Created around miniature IKEA-inspired beds for smartphones, the ‘Phone Sleep Collection’ encouraged people to put their devices to bed before going to sleep themselves. Developed to launch IKEA’s Complete Sleep Collection, the campaign reframed digital disconnection as a natural part of the nightly routine, using familiar product language and understated Scandinavian design cues to position the smartphone as an overworked companion in need of rest. Playful yet quietly pointed, the campaign tackled growing concerns around endless scrolling and sleep deprivation without resorting to guilt, panic, or moralizing.
Campaign Information
Name: Phone Sleep Collection
Brand Name: IKEA
Lead Agency: Memac Ogilvy
Production Company: Melt
7. Saudia connects travel rewards with authentic cultural discovery
To encourage travellers to engage more deeply with Saudi Arabia’s cultural landscape, Saudia launched ‘Let It Fly’, a luggage-sticker initiative that rewards passengers for purchasing locally made products and artisanal handicrafts. The work of Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East, and inspired by the country’s cities, traditions, and regional identities, the collectable stickers were designed in collaboration with creators like Craig & Karl, Nada Sultan, and Raphaëlle Macaron. Each sticker added extra baggage allowance, allowing travellers to bring home cultural items without worrying about weight limits. “By combining travel convenience with cultural storytelling, the initiative reflects a new approach to how airlines can connect people, place and purpose,” says Essam Akhonbay, Vice-President of Marketing at Saudia.
Campaign Information:
Name: Let It Fly
Brand Name: Saudia
Lead Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East
Partner Agency: Publicis KSA
8. Virtual Jeep convoys turn stuck gamers into connected communities
Getting stuck is usually the moment a game grinds to a halt. ‘Rescue Squad’, created by Publicis Middle East for Jeep Middle East, turned that frustration into the centre of the experience itself. Inspired by the real-world camaraderie of off-roading convoys, the campaign enlisted leading Saudi streamers to rescue stranded players by deploying virtual Jeep convoys in-game whenever someone became stuck. A custom in-game showroom and surprise giveaways of real-world recovery gear extended the experience beyond the screen, linking gaming culture to Jeep’s off-road identity. “Gamers are used to hitting restart when they’re stuck. Jeep players don’t restart, they regroup,” said Tuki Ghiassi, executive creative director at Publicis Middle East.
Campaign Information
Name: Rescue Squad
Brand Name: Jeep Middle East
Lead Agency: Publicis Middle East
9. A hospital campaign explores loneliness through silent emotional storytelling
Most hospital campaigns focus on expertise, technology, or medical outcomes. ‘Never Alone’, created by Saatchi & Saatchi for the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, took a different approach, exploring the emotional isolation patients often experience during serious illness. Told through the story of twin sisters, the film follows moments of tenderness, conflict and care as one sister appears to guide the other through a difficult journey. Only in the final scenes is it revealed that the companion never existed, reframing the narrative as a portrait of loneliness and inner struggle. The film relies on visual storytelling and performance to position the hospital as a source of human presence and support.
Campaign Information
Name: Never Alone
Brand Name: King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre
Lead Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East
10. flynas helps passengers choose seats for unforgettable aerial scenery
For most travellers, choosing a window seat is little more than a gamble. flynas transformed that uncertainty into a premium experience with ‘Seat with a View’, an AI-powered seat selection tool developed with VML Riyadh that allows passengers to preview the scenery visible from their exact seat before takeoff. Using machine learning, the system mapped more than 120 flynas routes, analysing landmarks, coastlines, mountain ranges, flight direction, altitude and timing to predict the best aerial views. “The ambition was to turn a functional choice into an emotional one by combining data, AI technology, and creativity in a way that reimagines the humble seat map,” says Firas Ghannam, executive creative director at VML Riyadh.
Campaign Information
Name: Seat with a View
Brand Name: flynas
Lead Agency: VML Riyadh
Production Companies: Blue Elephant, Kurve Studios
This article was originally published in the latest Cannes Lions special issue of Communicate. To explore more interviews, insights, and analysis from global leaders in marketing, media, creativity, and innovation, access the full issue here.
