Title	WATCH US MOVE / BEYOND THE SURFACE
Brand	ADIDAS
Product/Service	ADIDAS SWIM
Category	A03. Casting
Entrant	HAVAS MIDDLE EAST Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Idea Creation	HAVAS MIDDLE EAST Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
PR	HAVAS MIDDLE EAST Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production	LA COSA DE LAS PELICULAS Barcelona, SPAIN

Name	Company	Position
Fabio Silveira	Havas Middle East	General Manager
Joao Medeiros	Havas Middle East	Executive Creative Director
Anshuman Bhattacharya	Havas Middle East	ACD / Copywriter
Karim Sherif	Havas Middle East	Copywriting (Arabic)
Michele De Iuliis	Havas Middle East	Art Director
Karim Sherif	Havas Middle East	Copywriter (Arabic)
Nicholas Bristow	Havas Middle East	Copywriter
Nagat Idris	Havas Middle East	Copywriter (Arabic)
Justine Dib	Havas Middle East	Account Manager
Carlos Nadal	Havas Middle East	Head of Growth
Razan Karim	Red Havas Middle East	Communications Director
Salma Malaeb	Red Havas Middle East	Communications Executive
Myriam Khoury	La Cosa	Executive Producer
Caballo Pistola	La Cosa	Director (Film)
Arjun Saraswat	adidas	Senior Manager Brand Communications Emerging Markets
Arnaud JeanGirard	adidas	VP Brand adidas Emerging Markets
Amrith Gopinath	adidas	Senior Director Brand adidas MENA
Paul O'Connor	adidas	Director Brand Communications and Sport Marketing MENA
Giovanna Altomare	adidas	Manager Marketing Operations MENA

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

The film is a manifesto for women everywhere, reminding them that irrespective of their shapes, ethnicities, abilities and faiths, they are all more beyond the surface and that they should all feel confident in water. To bring this message to life, we started with bringing onboard Asma Elbadawi, an activist and poet known for changing the rules of basketball to make wearing a hijab in professional games legal. An inspiring poem by her was used as the basis for the film that celebrated 5 truly unique women including Asma, who had all spent their whole life struggling with finding the confidence to swim in public. The film launched adidas's new inclusive swimwear collection by sparking conversations about making swimming more inclusive in over 50 countries across 6 continents.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

While globally, 32% of women don’t feel comfortable wearing a swimsuit at a public beach or pool, in MENA the number is 88% (almost 3 times higher). - YouGov, Consumer Research, Women in Water Sports in MENA, 2021 The challenge was to create a piece of communication to highlight the issue and raise awareness to the launch of the new adidas conservative swimwear collection - a piece that would be part of the broader “Beyond the Surface” campaign and an initiative of the brand’s commitment to close the gender gap in sports.

Tell the jury about the casting process.

To celebrate, and represent, every woman’s right to feel confident in the water, the casting was focused on inclusivity and diversity. The film with a poem celebrated the confidence water brings to all women from every walk of life (different shapes, ethnicities, abilities and faith) in which we cast five women with unique stories, including: - Asma Elbadawi - is a Sudanese-British spoken word poet, activist, basketball player and coach. Known to have petitioned and succeeded in convincing the International Basketball Association (FIBA) to remove a ban on hijabs and religious headwear in the professional sport. - Dareen Barbar - the first Arab Amputee to win World Beauty Fitness & Fashion, Guinness World Record, Triathlete - Raha Moharrak - is the youngest Arab and the first Saudi woman to climb Mount Everest. She has also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Vinson, Mount Elbrus, Aconcagua, Kala Pattar, Pico de Orizaba and Iztaccihuatl.