In October 2019, a fire destroyed Lebanon’s forests sparking massive local protests leading to the ongoing revolution the country is witnessing. The government’s lack of response was the last drop in years of inadequacy, which put the country in one of its most difficult socio-economic periods.

Two months later, Exotica, Lebanon’s leading plant and decoration shop, lost most of its inventory in a massive warehouse fire, right before Christmas.

Inspired by the resilience of the Lebanese people and the lack of governmental initiatives, Exotica wanted to turn an unfortunate event into a positive act by raising donations to the association for forests development and conservation: AFDC.

The Lebanese have always been recognized as “phoenix people '' but now they were not only rising from the ashes but propelling the country into a new era. Fueled by the government’s lack of action, people started asking for real change, taking their future into their own hands.

We saw in the burnt pots that survived the Exotica fire the perfect metaphor for the Lebanese people: after everything around them burnt down, they not only survived but also flourished. Thus, #wetheunburnt campaign came to life turning each pot into a tribute to those who, against all odds, refuse to crumble to ash.

Exotica is a high-end brand with a history of one-way communication. Our main challenge was to create a campaign that spoke to a wider, younger audience in a time where brand communication was not only unwanted but perceived as superficial.

We managed to remain uplifting instead of opportunistic, contributing to the solution not the problem. Our campaign told our story alongside the Lebanese people by collaborating with 15 local artists that emerged from the revolution. They became the voice of our campaign by using 15 burnt pots to bring to life what unburnt means to them, launching the Unburnt Collection. Additional pots that survived the fire were sold in store and branded “#wetheunburnt.” Each pot sold, equaled one tree planted. All proceeds went to AFDC for the reforestation of Lebanon: saving what was meant to be wasted for a bigger environmental gain.

We launched the campaign with content showing the artists working on their pots. The posts, created and shared by the artists on their personal social accounts, sparked their followers’ interest.

Following that, Exotica and AFDC posted an inspiring and relatable manifesto film explaining our initiative in preparation for our on-ground activation.

On January 30th, regular and new customers came together for the collection launch event where the pots were auctioned at the Exotica store and for the first time in Lebanon on Facebook, dedicating all proceeds to AFDC.

An extended collection imprinting #wetheunburnt was sold to a wider audience where one pot = one tree.

Our PR program followed where we sent pots to influencers who created further content and spoke about what #wetheunburnt means to them. This amplified the conversation across the country turning our campaign into a movement of resilience by a Lebanese brand for the Lebanese people.

As the campaign is still ongoing and the results are being collected on a daily basis, however since the launch of the event the following results have been recorded:

1. 1.2 million impressions on Social Channels and counting

2. 8K Shares

3. 400 Pots Sold / Trees Planted and counting

4. 40% increase in followers on social channels and counting