Zain, a telecommunications company based in Kuwait, released an anti-terrorism campaign just before the start of Ramadan. Although the message of its corresponding video spreads an idea that terrorism should be replaced with mercy, kindness, and love, its images provoked an intense debate.

We know in advertising, you should be innovative, implement efficient marketing strategies, and deliver creative content to generate a big impact among consumers — and taking calculated risks is important. In fact, clothing company Benetton was brave enough to use a well-known photo of a man dying of AIDS in one of its ads, generating huge controversy around it. The ad also stirred an intense debate.

The Zain campaign wants to promote world peace by bringing an unexpected character to the forefront: a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest preparing for a deadly attack. The video’s shocking images show a group of people appealing to the attacker with faith and kindness in a desperate attempt to make him stop. The video is overlapped with a soundtrack created by Hussain Al Jassmi, a popstar from the UAE.

Images of ‘bombing’, violence, delusion, hatred, and extremism, as opposed to mercy, truth, and love, with background footage from different terrorist attacks that happened in Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia caused mixed feelings among Twitter users.

The three-minute-long video has gone viral on YouTube, gathering not only 3.5 million views in just five days since its official launch, but also a lot of confused reactions. Some users said the anti-terror campaign has an important message, calling people to stand up for peace.

Others saw the ad as inappropriate, exploited by the company to sell its services. The controversial video even had an actor resemble Omran Daqneesh, the little boy was rescued after an attack in Syria, whose image was widely shared online.

Critics claimed that #ZainDistortstheTruth, while also pointing out that the boy who has become the symbol of Aleppo’s misery was not injured in a terrorist attack, but in an airstrike by the Syrian government.

Any publicity is good publicity — so they say. But isn’t there a line that should be drawn somewhere in the process of creating an ad? When does one say that a company used unethical means to create an advert? Let us know your thoughts in the comments about  Zain’s “anti-terrorism” video.

Credits:

Zain