Shot by Ian Pons Jewell and Nick Roney, with Erik Messerschmidt behind the camera, this was a campaign of play that had film as its very heart. The challenge was to use film to bring to life what Qiddiya promised to the world, knowing that the city itself is still not yet complete.

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.

The campaign launched in early december and is still in market, continuing to exceeded all expectations and benchmarks. With simultaneous global launch in a dozen markets, the campaign has garnered almost 5 billion impressions and reached an audience of over 1 billion. Our hero film assets have clocked near 500 million views, more than doubling our full 9-week campaign predictions after less than 1 month on air. Qiddiya itself was front-page news in every major newspaper in Saudi Arabia and the wider region, and the launch was trending on X (FKA Twitter), demonstrating how much this campaign got people talking. Leaving the city to people’s imaginations was also powerful recruitment tool, with a 1900% increase in applications to join the project. A powerful first step in making this city a reality.