As Glade prepared to launch a line extension in Saudi Arabia, the brand focused on ensuring the product proposition and companion marketing displayed a clear respect for local cultural norms. While developing the launch campaign, Glade & its creative agency (Ogilvy) approached Snap about ways in which they could use augmented reality to interact directly with the women of Saudi Arabia. However, there was one problem:

Snap’s facial mapping technology only triggered recognition if the user’s eyes, nose and mouth were all visible. As a result, the technology did not work for women wearing veils.

Glade, Ogilvy & Snap solved this problem together, ensuring the AR technology was as inclusive as possible. The team developed a new recognition entry point triggered by the eyes alone. The resulting experience brought the floral notes of Glade’s new product line to life with a simple blink of the eyes. Written in Arabic in the skies above Jeddah and Riyadh, the community could also see the hopes & aspirations they shared with Glade during the brand’s ethnographic research.

Veiled Snapchat debuted on International Women’s Day, driving the highest engagement for Glade in the region and a causal lift in portfolio sales – illustrating that when a brand places its consumer at the core of its strategy, it leads to more resonant experiences and measurable business outcomes.

My Role: I empowered the project team in both the US and Middle East by collaborating closely with the ECD from Ogilvy who conceived of this idea, Snap’s Creative Strategists who crafted the platform and the developers who reshaped the technology. I also shared the Veiled Snapchat story across global industry stages — DMEXCO (Germany), Spikes Asia (Singapore) and Snap Partner Summits (LA, Dubai).

RESULTS:

• 2x share rate vs. regional norms

• 149% index in portfolio sales vs. brand target

• 1 Cannes Lion