Responses by Saleh Elghatit, creative director, Serviceplan Experience.
Background: We wanted to capture Ramadan from a perspective that has not been associated with your typical Ramadan ad, even though it’s quite a common occurrence for family members to park chaotically outside a home in which they’re breaking fast. We felt this idea would truly represent a modern Saudi family in Ramadan by showcasing family dynamics through a series of genuine interactions—to detangle the mess of a parking job they’ve created.
Design thinking: A large family gathering at a family member’s home will always mean a bunch of cars parked outside. This insight was the perfect starting point in building our idea.
Challenges: Staying true to our client, the Toyota sector of Abdul Latif Jameel Motors, and the story we’re telling this Ramadan. We wanted this to be a Ramadan ad that still felt like a car ad, or else any brand could have told this story. It was important to us that the cars made their appearance seamlessly within the spot, and the challenge lay in finding the right balance between the two.
Favorite details: The family dynamics we showed on screen are something we’re really proud of. We wanted to avoid a cookie-cutter advertising family in this spot, and I believe we managed to do that through great casting, acting and directing. A big part of the credit has to go to our director Omar El Zoheiry, who was on board with that vision from the beginning and managed to bring it to the screen perfectly.
New lessons: Some stories transcend culture. Even though this spot was created for the Saudi market, the response has been similar regardless of where viewers are from. We tend to see our families in these characters and remember the quirks in our own big family gatherings.
Divergent paths: Not to sound cliché, but I wouldn’t change a thing if we had to do the project again. We were fortunate to have collaborated with a great director and clients that could visualize how we could make a piece worth sharing. It was important that we all trusted each other, and that’s one thing I’ll always look for in future projects. Find collaborators you trust, and your piece will be in good hands.
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