GRAND PRIX — Olay—“Eyes of Arabia”, Starcom MediaVest Group MENA, Dubai

How do you launch a women’s beauty skin cream in Saudi Arabia — one of the most regulated and restrictive markets in the world where all females must dress according to strict Muslim tradition?

To launch Regenerist, Olay turned convention upside down and threw in a heavy dose of new media. The beauty pageant concept is a global celebration of beauty and Saudi Arabia had never had one in its borders. Olay understood that bringing out the beauty of women’s eyes takes on a deeper level of meaning when it is the only part of a face you can see so they created Olay Eyes of Arabia -- a beauty pageant based on eyes alone. Moving from the classic pageant format to a 100% digital platform gave even the most conservative Muslim women the ability to participate, vote and interact with the contest. Women could enter by uploading a veiled photo online, and once at the site consumers could learn beauty tips and secrets from Olay professionals. Banner ads on women targeted sites, beauty magazines, and influential bloggers drove traffic to the site – resulting in an 806% spike in traffic and a market share growth of 3.5%.