It’s easy for an internet provider to promise strength, reliability, and reach. UAE, internet provided, du, gave its network muscle a real-world demonstration – put to the ultimate test with no backup and no safety nets.
In a live demonstration by TBWA\RAAD, du has claimed a new Guinness World Record for the longest promoted TikTok livestream – more than 30 hours of nonstop, on-the-move broadcasting powered exclusively by du’s 5G network.
Over the past three years, du has invested into next-generation infrastructure. The record-breaking, Unstoppable Network activation put its new capabilities on public display, throwing every challenge imaginable at du’s 5G coverage: a single smartphone – no backup devices, no fixed lines – was passed from creator to creator on a two-day road trip through all seven Emirates, from mangrove kayaking in Abu Dhabi and dune-bashing in Liwa to zip-lining over Ras Al Khaimah and a sunrise hot-air-balloon ride above Dubai. Throughout the 1,800-minute relay, the stream never buffered, lagged or dropped.
Thousands of viewers tuned in, commenting in real time as the phone, and the network, powered across the Emirates.
“Films are easy to make, and stories are easy to tell, but proving performance live is a whole other game,” stated Karim Benkirane, chief commercial officer, du. “We invited the nation to watch our network try to fail—and it simply wouldn’t. Breaking a Guinness World Record™ wasn’t the objective; demonstrating, in real time, that du keeps you live anytime, anywhere was. Today we’ve set a new benchmark for reliability in the UAE.”
Reda Raad, group chief executive officer, TBWA\RAAD, added, “This brand experience is the disruptive creative demo we needed, shifting du from telling people how great the network is to showing them instead. ‘Story doing’ at full throttle—no scripts, no safety nets—just a brave, public test of speed and reach. Disruption is about actions that rewrite the rules, and nothing rewrites them like a live, nation-wide stress test that ends in a Guinness title.”
Credits:
Creative Agency: TBWA\RAAD
Joe Lahham: Managing Director
Catherine Bannister: Chief Strategy Officer
Santiago Cuesta: Executive Creative Director
Noor Akar: Creative Director
Daniela Aguirre: Senior Copywriter
Denise Gregory: Junior Designer
Preetam Kotian: Senior Motion Designer
Carl Ghosn: Account Director
Layla Gaussin: Senior Account Manager
Reem Sabbagh: Senior Account Executive
Romy Abdelnour: Head of Communications
Lea Moufarej: Corporate Communications Executive
Campaign Partners: Tiktok, Tiktok LIVE, ByteDance
Sara Gentile: TikTok LIVE METAP Lead for Branding, Content & Social Media
Rea Jabara: Creative Consultant at TikTok
Media Agency: Mindshare
Naya Ghorayeb: Media Planner
Karim Daba: Media Manager
Joseph El Bcherrawi: Client Leadership Director
Ghada Baraka: Senior Content Manager, GOAT – GroupM MENA
Manar Hamed: Account Manager, GOAT – GroupM Mena
Production: Digital Tree
Mehr Hussain: Business Developer Manager
Laith Al Ramahi: Creative Director
Client: du
Simon Ornelis: Director Brand Development & Corporate Identity
Hawra Dawood: Manager Brand Development & Corporate Identity
Layal Hassi: Media Planning & Buying Manager
Aisha Abbasi: Manager, Social Media, Events & Sponsorship
Ibrahim Al Mayahi: VP Brand & Marketing Communication
