The biggest Ramadan competition is definitely on as all 4 Egyptian telecom operators released on the first few days of Ramadan, and the fire continues to heat up as they duke it out for supremacy.
An important note is the major difference in this year’s telecom arena, where are all the celebrities?
After years of the same formula by the original 3 operators, there is a sudden loss of large groups of celebrities singing and appearing in telecom Ramadan campaigns. The telecom brands seem to finally be shifting to a more quality vs quantity mindset this year, something many people can appreciate.
This comes after, for the last few years, many consumers have started to complain about the excessive budgets used for groups of celebrities to appear when it could be used for charity and helping others during the holy month.
By the numbers: First week recap
wpDataChart with provided ID not found!
Vodafone
Although Vodafone does end its Amr Diab biopic/Ramadan ad with a group of celebrities gathering around a table, maybe it was harder for them to kick the habit than we thought?
The ad plays so much on Amr Diab’s appearance, focusing on his origins and youth, turning it more into a biographical moment than one that truly touches upon Ramadan. Yet, it looks like this worked in Vodafone’s favor as it became the fastest view millionaire this year, reaching 1M views in just 5 hours.
https://www.facebook.com/ramadanatics/photos/a.435239100235939/648539598905887/?_rdc=1&_rdr
Orange
Orange continues to stick to Ramadan themes with this musical ad featuring Tamer Hosny and Nancy Ajram that focus on the small words that shape our day. The bright ad aims to share the message of small kindnesses and how the small things we do can affect others deeply.
Orange is also continuing the campaign’s message through a personal call by Nancy Ajram. Orange users will receive a recorded message by the singer starting today. The brand was the first telecom to come out this year, and the first view millionaire in the telecom industry.
https://www.facebook.com/ramadanatics/photos/a.435239100235939/648549722238208/?_rdc=1&_rdr
The brand is on a roll, being the first view millionaire and the top trending telecom last year and won the Google Lantern award in 2017.
Etisalat
While the other telecoms were searching locally for their favorite celebrity to showcase this year, Etisalat cast their search net a little wider, grabbing international movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme for their Ramadan/action movie spoof.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wq_YjAuqvk
It’s easy to see the nods to both actors’ careers, while showing off their mix of comedic action.
Although Etisalat was still under the 1M mark 10 hours after posting, this telecom is actively speeding up and is now right behind Vodafone with 35M views and 549K+ interactions on all platforms.
WE
It is WE’s 2nd time in the Ramadan ad superbowl, and while last year’s world cup ad series started with one of the most intricate and cinematic ads of that year, their newest Ramadan ad doesn’t hit as many of the right points.
This year’s ad features Karim Abdel Aziz yet again alongside comedian Maged El Kedwany as they use WE’s network to help one meet a girl he likes. It’s a funny ad but with an awkward and strange choice for a storyline which is so much like the recent movie [The Secret Men Club] by the due Karim Abdel Aziz and Maged El Kedwany.
Egypt’s Telecoms
After one week, Vodafone is leading the pack with the most views at over 43.9M with Etisalat right behind with 35.9M, and Orange in 3rd place. However, Etisalat continues to trend highest on YouTube between the 4, giving it longer staying power over its competitors who started the week at the top.
https://www.facebook.com/ramadanatics/photos/a.435239100235939/649282198831627
Etisalat currently reigns over other telecoms on YouTube as the 30th trending video in Egypt, with Vodafone and Orange on the 35th and 36th spot respectively.
Honorable Mention: Zain Kuwait
Zain Kuwait continues to be a master at the Ramadan ad game as they pull off another powerful and engaging ad for this Ramadan, and come in as the 47th trending video on YouTube.
The Kuwaiti telecom has been one of the most anticipated campaigns of Ramadan for a long time now, and this is another ad that proves their successfulness in keeping Ramadan’s cultural identity together while hitting on modern issues.
Which MENA Telecom was your favorite? Drop a comment with the link
