Mainstreaming the American Muslim experience

The context: Thanksgiving is one of the major American celebrations. On this particular occasion, the Islamic festival of Eid ul Adha, which follows the Hajj, fell over the same period as Thanksgiving.

The concept: To acknowledge the various celebrations of its customers falling over the festival period.

The campaign: In its promotional material for Thanksgiving sales, Best Buy included celebratory wishes for Eid ul Adha “Happy Eid ul Adha”

What we liked: BestBuy recognised that Muslims were part of its customer base and they had an additional festival that was important to them over the Thanksgiving period, and that they would likely be shopping for it. It recognised the aspiration of American Muslim consumers to be recognised as part of the mainstream. In addition, when they were criticised for including the Eid wishes, they stood by their initial decision, which further endeared them to their Muslim consumers, as brands often capitulate under hate criticism. They took a good decision to start with, and then showed loyalty to Muslims, which their Muslim consumers took to heart and were won over by.