This film was a labour of love and dedication: made to feel global by its very nature, with touches that every culture can identify with. We needed to immediately conjure an image of humdrum, boring, constricted routine and then use the power of direction, cinematography and post-production to shatter this, showing the power of play unleashed.

The campaign was designed deliberately with a global audience in mind, speaking to the universal nature of play. The campaign wanted to give a singular vision: tapping into a shared trait that transcends both linguistic and cultural differences. We deliberately chose a diverse cast and made sure all executions ran in all markets.

In the hero film, the action starts with a series of scenes in which people watch or participate in a variety of pursuits – kicking a football, watching a motor race, playing a video game – in an uninspired and lacklustre way.

The mood and tone then flip when the items of play are released to take on a life of their own – a static horse ride moves down a street taking the child riding it with it, for example, and a bowling ball drags the man holding it before he can throw.

A high energy sequence then follows with participants and players taken on a rollercoaster ride. In the final reveal, a voice over explains: “The world’s first city built for play is coming to Saudi Arabia. Don’t just live life, play life. Qiddiya.”

Qiddiya is a project of breathtaking scale and ambition - one of the most exciting recreation and tourism developments in the world today.

The site, 40km from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, will encapsulate a stunning F1 track, mind-blowingly designed football stadium, music and performing arts venues, gaming centres, theme parks, golf courses, equestrian centres and a host of lifestyle and residential facilities.

Its scale is enormous:

• 375km2 of developed land

• 24 districts

• 400+ entertainment assets

• 600k residents

• 48m visits annually

• Creating 250k jobs

The brief was to launch this new city ahead of its first attractions opening their doors to visitors from 2025. Creating awareness amongst global travellers for whom the KSA isn’t yet on the tourism map, and anticipation amongst the local KSA audience who have heard about Qiddiya but are unsure of whether it will deliver on its promises were key objectives.