IMPACT BBDO

Client: Lebanese Broadcast Corporation International
Product: Miss Lebanon Pageant
Title: #WeMissLebanon
Media: TV, Social, Branded Content, Ambient, PR
Country: Lebanon
Date Of Campaign: Launched on March 1st 2022

Background: The crisis in Lebanon has reached an all-time high, with more than half of the population under the poverty line, the Lebanese pound losing 95% of its value with no signs of stopping, and complete governmental negligence towards the safety of its people. This has particularly affected Lebanese women, struggling under the control of a male dominated government that always leaves them fighting for their most basic rights. Despite all this, in 2022, the Lebanese government announced the Miss Lebanon pageant would return, after a 4-year hiatus. LBCI wanted to draw attention to the problems that continue to riddle the country in a non-violent way that empowered the people leading protests–women. So instead of going forward with a tone-deaf beauty pageant, LBCI transformed it into a way to shine a spotlight on Lebanon’s problems and demand the government make changes.

Idea: How does one launch a beauty pageant amidst a political and economic crisis, in a country where women are still fighting for their basic rights? We added one transformative word to its title: ‘We’ Miss Lebanon. Within its simplicity a powerful change of course took place, one where LBCI turned a typical beauty pageant focused on appearances, into an influential political statement. In the #WeMissLebanon pageant, women would not just showcase their beauty, but their country’s as well, echoing the yearning nostalgic sentiments of the Lebanese both at home and abroad. ‘We’ Miss Lebanon also made a clear statement about the oppression of women in Lebanese society, while also calling out an oppressive male-dominated government and demanding it restore Lebanon to its former glory.The campaign initiated a digital activism activation, launching a filter on social media that adorned those who use it with a sash carrying our slogan “We Miss Lebanon”. We also edited these sashes onto iconic photos of women activists, protestors and others who cleaned the streets after the explosion and cooked for those who lost their homes.Using both conventional and out-of-the-box methods to push this campaign forward, our sash appeared on a commercial on a prominent Lebanese television channel, as well as on outdoor activations, social media platforms, print outlets, and finally, and most impactfully, on thecenter stage of the pageant.We also scoured LinkedIn for the contestants of the pageant, concluding with an impressive selection of accomplished female activists and representatives. The hashtag #wemisslebanon spread all over social media, and the words stood center stage during the show.

Results: The #WeMissLebanon campaign stirred the hearts of the Lebanese not only at home, but abroad. People flooded online platforms with positive sentiments, and openly expressed their hopeful thoughts and opinions towards thecountry they lost. Analytics found many Lebanese expats engaged passionately with the campaign by using our hashtag on social platforms. The elected queen wore her sash for meetings with top government officials, further shifting traditional standards of beauty into ones associated with fearlessness, standing for freedom, and confrontingrampant injustice. The queen also went on to use her global platform to advocate and raise awareness about Lebanon’s tragic state.#1 Trending Hashtag on Twitter#10 Million in Earned Media Dollars#650 + Million Impressions on Social In 3 Days#Most Watched Tv Program on LBCI#Coverage In Over 150 International Publications#Over 18.5 million Views on TikTok#A CTR of 40X on LinkedIn (exceeding the average by 3966%)