Submitted by OgilvyAgency IPI Score 95/100

Dark Iftar

Content Creation

For Coca-Cola, Ogilvy Dubai staged a Ramadan Iftar in total darkness so six strangers judged each other by conversation, not appearance, then revealed how wrong their assumptions were.

Case in 60 seconds

Coca-Cola wanted a Ramadan campaign on tolerance and unity, but a message about not judging by appearance is easy to say and hard to make people feel.

Sight drives snap judgement; remove it and people connect on who someone is, not how they look.

Host an Iftar in total darkness, let strangers form impressions through conversation, then turn on the lights.

Ogilvy Dubai staged a dark Iftar with six people from different walks of life, capturing their conversation and their surprise at the reveal.

No metrics are published on the source page; the outcome is the demonstrated reveal that assumptions were far off. Any performance or award claims come only from third-party coverage.

Strategy Breakdown

The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.

Ramadan audiences in the Middle East, and the wider social audience receptive to messages of tolerance and unity.
Ramadan calls for tolerance and unity, yet people still judge others instantly by appearance.
A brand message about not judging by looks risks feeling preachy unless audiences experience the point for themselves.
Coca-Cola positioned itself around connection and shared humanity, using the Iftar meal as the setting.
Stripping away appearance lets genuine impressions form first, so the later reveal exposes how misleading looks-based assumptions are.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Social-experiment film
  • Distribution on YouTube and social

Partners

  • Ogilvy (Memac Ogilvy, Dubai)
  • FP7/DXB (co-agency, per third-party records)

Participation mechanic

  • Guests dined and conversed in the dark, then reacted to seeing each other

Creator role

  • Not disclosed on source page; third-party coverage refers to social-media influencers as participants

Why Ogilvy's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Removing sight, the biggest driver of snap judgement, let real impressions form before appearance could interfere.

  2. 2

    Staging a real experiment rather than asserting a message gave the point undeniable, watchable proof.

  3. 3

    The lights-on reveal delivered an emotional payoff that made the film shareable.

  4. 4

    Anchoring the idea in the Ramadan Iftar tied the brand naturally to the season's themes of tolerance and unity.

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