We took into consideration the cultural sensitivity in Qatar around communicating uncomfortable topics.

Depicting real car accidents, used in road safety campaigns globally, would not work here. Instead of violence, we needed beauty, to help them rethink the place of taking precautions in God’s plans.

So we interwove the integration of the seatbelt into a cornerstone of the culture: Islamic motifs. The Islamic pattern was chosen for its symbolic significance, its perfection and infinite repetition representing the sacred and divine.

The campaign conveyed that while the seatbelt is not the ultimate Protector (ie. God), it still plays a critical role in our culture as a means of protection.

Authenticity was key, so we created three patterns that used motifs from arabesque and Islamic art. We used CGI to mimic the look and texture of the seatbelts and buckles, and created traditional patterns by folding and shaping them into precise designs.

The executions were intended to have extreme stopping power in every instance. The posters were always at eye level whether indoor or outdoor, so that the smaller headline was something enticing for the consumer that drew them closer to the poster and allowed them to appreciate the detail of the visuals.

The ads ran in Qatar, for 3 months: in Murur Magazine - a local traffic magazine released by the Ministry of the Interior, as well as Connect Magazine, a magazine that QIB issues monthly to its customers - who make up a significant portion of the population. We also ran the campaign on QIB's ATM screens and in-branch posters as well as on their social media pages.

Being an Islamic bank, QIB had the credibility and respect from the country to successfully address the religious barrier preventing people from strapping up.

The impact of the campaign has been two-fold:

1) Firstly it's simple beauty and powerful message has received widespread recognition and word of mouth in the community, increasing the awareness of the issue.

2) It has increased goodwill and brand reputation of QIB, further emphasising its status as a caring member of the Qatar community.

In our research, we discovered the reason for not wearing seatbelts in the Gulf largely rests on faith. Many believe that wearing a seatbelt demonstrates lack of faith that God will protect them. They believe that if God wills that they should die on the road, then that is God's will. In fact, a recent study found the top causes for car crash deaths in Qatar were believed to be from destiny (92% believed), the evil eye, or the 'djinn' or other supernatural creatures. Because we were tackling a religious barrier, it was appropriate that QIB, a respected representative of Islam in Qatar, be the voice of this campaign.

While Qatar enjoys high standards of living, one of the biggest dangers for citizens is the high number of road fatalities. Tragically, the reason for many of these deaths is that the victim was simply not wearing a seatbelt. And as we observe in our daily commutes, locals especially refuse to wear them. This has been a problem for decades in the Gulf, and despite attempts at changing the behavior, it is still rampant. As a concerned member of the community, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB)—the most renowned, respected and loved Islamic bank in Qatar—wanted to raise awareness among citizens of the lifesaving importance of wearing seatbelts while on the road.