The emotional story behind that spectacular Burj Khalifa gender reveal campaign
When it comes to social media campaigns, the gender reveal on Burj Khalifa last September was the biggest, tallest and perhaps one of the most controversial. Popular Arab YouTube influencers Anas and Asala Marwah caused an online sensation when the gender of their second child was displayed on the world’s tallest building, but not for all the right reasons.
The couple, who were joined by family members and fellow social media influencers in Downtown Dubai, watched the 828-metre tower transform to neon blue to announce they were expecting a boy. All the excitement, tension and jubilation was captured in a slick 15-minute video streamed on the Syrian-Canadian couple’s YouTube channel, the Anasala Family, home to nearly 10 million subscribers. Not only did the video go viral with 28 million views, but it made headlines abroad, with North American and European outlets carrying the news.
Yet, despite such widespread views, the stunt attracted criticism as well as applause. Within hours of the video’s release, the campaign was lambasted for such a display of wealth during a time when many around the world were losing their jobs. “I understand what was said and where they were coming from, but that doesn’t mean that it is true,” says Moktar Larbi, head of growth at Alfan Group, the team behind the stunt.
“A lot of the time, negative comments come with the territory. So when we started hearing some of these reactions, we were deciding if we should address this or not. In the end, we needed to because a lot of what is being said is fake news.”
One of the main misconceptions surrounding the project is the supposed millions of dollars paid by the couple and Alfan Group to rent Burj Khalifa for the gender reveal. “This didn’t happen at all. I can tell you that no money was spent on that,” says the strategist. “Instead we worked with the right people to make this happen. It was a pure collaborative and creative project.”
The couple first conceived of the idea for a high-profile gender reveal in July, and Larbi says it took three months to execute the production. This included getting the appropriate permits, flying the couple over from Ottawa, planning a safe video shoot using a 12-person camera crew, and ensuring the baby’s gender was not revealed prior to the release of the video.
“The reveal was announced on the Burj Khalifa around 9.30pm on September 8 and the video was out at 3.30am the following day,” he says. “We wanted to release it much earlier, but the editing took longer than expected.” Such a delay caused the rather surreal situation in which Dubai residents and tourists saw the landmark turn blue and state “It’s a boy” without any context. “They probably thought it was just a new graphic,” Larbi says, with a chuckle. “It was the invited influencers and crew we were worried about. They had to keep it a secret.”
Considering the magnitude of the concept, the fact the project was achieved in just over 100 days seems remarkable.
It also shows the power of ideas-based sentiment. And that’s the biggest
misconception surrounding digital campaigns, Larbi says, that they are driven just by data rather than by good stories. “We were not interested in a promotional event.
“We were telling a story about love, family and a new baby coming to life. This is how we pitched it to our partners. We never approached them from the angle of how they will get millions of views; that would not have worked. It is all always about the story and the emotion that comes with it.”