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Category
Real-Time
Annual ID
OS_CU21_007G
About the Work
In the UAE, a rapidly growing e-commerce market, Mastercard faced a challenge.
Online shoppers preferred cash-on-delivery. Those who preferred digital payments, preferred Mastercard's main competitor as card-on-file.
Mastercard needed to drive digital payments and become card-on-file.
First, defined what “priceless” meant to people in the UAE: Rare experiences, moments and interactions.
Then, we found a rare opportunity to bring Mastercard’s “priceless” advantage to life: A rare solar eclipse. 172 years in the making.
We discovered that owing to its phases, this rare eclipse would create a Mastercard logo in the sky – twice.
Now, that’s something its competition could never do.
Next, in partnership with a leading homegrown e-commerce retailer, we brought this natural phenomenon to life, through Astronomical Sales - a unique astronomical data-driven promotion, where the phases of the eclipse dictated the discounts that shoppers would get, gamifying the experience.
During the eclipse, from 6:30 am to 8:30 am (a promotion people woke up to!), on December 26, one day after Christmas Day, the Astronomical Sales from Mastercard, brought a dead retail season back to life. When the eclipse started, so did the sale.
In a live astronomical data-driven experience, as people tuned in on the ground on their mobiles and at home from their laptops and mobiles, as the sun diminished so did the prices, reaching discounts of 97% before returning gradually to full price.
Those who purchased at the exact moment the eclipse formed the Mastercard logo were rewarded with novel priceless surprises across the UAE and abroad.
Targeting the dead retail season (after Christmas and before the shopping bonanzas in the UAE including the Dubai Shopping Festival, sponsored and covered with competition owning the ground), we encouraged people to save money from their holiday shopping budgets, and instead, spend it on Mastercard’s Astronomical Sales instead.
As a result, we achieved record highs in usage for Mastercard in just 2 hours of the eclipse period.
Online shoppers preferred cash-on-delivery. Those who preferred digital payments, preferred Mastercard's main competitor as card-on-file.
Mastercard needed to drive digital payments and become card-on-file.
First, defined what “priceless” meant to people in the UAE: Rare experiences, moments and interactions.
Then, we found a rare opportunity to bring Mastercard’s “priceless” advantage to life: A rare solar eclipse. 172 years in the making.
We discovered that owing to its phases, this rare eclipse would create a Mastercard logo in the sky – twice.
Now, that’s something its competition could never do.
Next, in partnership with a leading homegrown e-commerce retailer, we brought this natural phenomenon to life, through Astronomical Sales - a unique astronomical data-driven promotion, where the phases of the eclipse dictated the discounts that shoppers would get, gamifying the experience.
During the eclipse, from 6:30 am to 8:30 am (a promotion people woke up to!), on December 26, one day after Christmas Day, the Astronomical Sales from Mastercard, brought a dead retail season back to life. When the eclipse started, so did the sale.
In a live astronomical data-driven experience, as people tuned in on the ground on their mobiles and at home from their laptops and mobiles, as the sun diminished so did the prices, reaching discounts of 97% before returning gradually to full price.
Those who purchased at the exact moment the eclipse formed the Mastercard logo were rewarded with novel priceless surprises across the UAE and abroad.
Targeting the dead retail season (after Christmas and before the shopping bonanzas in the UAE including the Dubai Shopping Festival, sponsored and covered with competition owning the ground), we encouraged people to save money from their holiday shopping budgets, and instead, spend it on Mastercard’s Astronomical Sales instead.
As a result, we achieved record highs in usage for Mastercard in just 2 hours of the eclipse period.
2021 Awards
Total Points: 45
Gold Pencil
Credits
Agency
FP7 McCann / Dubai
Media Distribution Company
Carat / Dubai
Digitas LBI / Dubai
Art Director
Eduardo Cesar
Copywriter
Daniel Osorio
Editor
Deydson Maik F Rocha
Executive Producer
Wilbur D'costa
Motion Designer
Lucas Velasco Fuse
Agency Producer
Cynthia Chabu
Regional Executive Creative Director
Fouad Abdel Malak
Oliver Robinson
Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais
Senior Art Director
Paulo Engler
Senior Copywriter
Nerine Gardiner
Account Director
Raghda ElMaghrabi
Account Manager
Razan Jalloul
GM - Business Unit
Tarek Ali Ahmed
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