Kuwait, 15 May 2019: Gulf Bank's Ramadan campaign acquired a record number of viewers in the first week of the holy month, garnering over 8.5 million views across various social media channels. The campaign makes use of a unique advertising move — the first of its kind in Kuwait and the region — in which viewers were given the chance to determine the ending of the story by voting for one of the two main characters, resulting in wide-spread engagement with the videos.

This year, Gulf Bank's Ramadan campaign revolves around the story of Lulwa, who as a young girl captures the hearts of two neighborhood boys, Aziz and Nasser. During the course of the story, both Aziz and Nasser end up vying for Lulwa’s affections, with both eventually requesting her hand in marriage. The story of Lulwa’s engagement highlights authentic Kuwaiti customs and values, including girgean, close-knit neighbors, caring families, and the humility and simplicity of the Kuwaiti people. At the end of the main video, both Aziz and Nasser are shown attending Lulwa’s engagement, but is unclear which of the suitors Lulwa will choose. That decision was left up to the viewers, an advertising decision that marked its debut this year on Gulf Bank’s social media channels. After watching a series of short videos featuring Lulwa’s mother interviewing the two candidates, viewers voted for the candidate they believed would make the best match.

After a round of voting, Aziz emerged as the best suitor. The campaign’s conclusion showing the end of Lulwa’s story is scheduled to be released on Gulf Bank’s social media channels today.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Ahmed Al Ameer, Assistant General Manager for External Communications at Gulf Bank, said: "We were very pleased with the response to our Ramadan campaign this year, a story which reflects the values of the people of Kuwait. Our goal was to engage our viewers in a way unlike anything that has been done before and, by partnering with Joy Productions to help bring this creative concept to life, we were able to garner more than 8.5 million views across multiple channels in just one week. We would like to also take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to the production and presentation of this work, including: the narrator, Mama Anisa; our guest of honor, Hoda Khatib; music and soundtrack producer, Bashar Al-Shatti; and writer Heba Hamada who did such a beautiful job in delivering the message we had wanted to convey.”

To watch Gulf Bank’s Ramadan ad, visit the Gulf Bank YouTube channel. To find out more about Gulf Bank, customers can visit one of the Gulf Bank’s 58 branches or log on to www.e-gulfbank.com. They can contact the Customer Contact Center on 1805805 or place queries through the newly launched WhatsApp service on 65805805 for assistance and guidance.