The UAE is full of streets with women’s names. People know them, drive on them everyday. Now Emirati Al-Futtaim Toyota’s and Memac Ogilvy are making people think about them, in collaboration with the Roads and Transportation Authority (RTA). In their campaign, Journey into Herstory, launched for Emirati Women’s Day, the partners turned UAE’s female-named streets into living narratives using geo-technology through Yango Maps.

As drivers pass through streets such as Hessa Street, named after Her Highness Sheikha Hessa bint Al Murr bin Huraiz, and Latifa Bint Hamdan Street, named after Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the member of the Dubai ruling family who brought freedom for women to the fore, they are fed audio stories, narrated by female Emirati voiceover artists about the lives and legacies of the pioneering women these streets are named after.

Supporting the audio campaign is thought-provoking OOH in key areas of the country, radio activations about the female-named streets that are incorporated into daily traffic announcements, and social media content.

Through the campaign, Al-Futtaim Toyota celebrates legendary women but also creates public awareness about their distinguished lives, their achievements in furthering female empowerment and equality across the nation, and their role in shaping the UAE as it is known today – and beyond.

Saad Abdullah, general manager of marketing and communications, Al-Futtaim Toyota, stated, “Our legacy in the UAE is deep-rooted and for Emirati Women’s Day, we wanted to highlight and bring to life the stories of the iconic individuals who paved the way for all women in the UAE today. They helped shape the nation and empowered others, and we felt the best way to celebrate these women was by bringing public awareness to their lives and achievements.”