sweetwater wins Bronze and a Black Dragon at the first Dragons of MENA

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ICOM member sweetwater has been recognised twice at the first-ever Dragons of MENA (Middle East and North Africa). The awards programme judges work on strategy, concept, execution and results. The Dubai agency won Bronze in the Innovative Idea/Concept category for Daredevil SupperClub for Disney+. It also won a Black Dragon in Event/Experiential for Born To Share Souq for McCain.

“Being recognised by our peers, on both the agency and the client side, tells the team that the passion and the hard work are being seen beyond our own four walls,” said Steven Hetzer, Founder and CEO of sweetwater. Winning in the first edition makes it more special, he added, but “these awards belong to our clients as much as they belong to us.”

Different formats, same starting point

On paper, the two projects have little in common. One was a dinner around a single table in Dubai. The other was a whole souq built around a portion of fries. According to Steven, neither project started with a format.

Both started with the same questions: why this brand, why these people, why here and why now? I think that’s what the jury saw.

A dinner instead of a beach event

Disney+ originally briefed a large outdoor activation at a popular beach in Dubai. Days before launch, the conflict in the region escalated and the city came to a standstill. Events stopped, and celebration no longer felt right. Disney+ did not cancel. Instead, the client and sweetwater rewrote the brief together around one question: what are the people of Dubai craving right now? Their answer was human connection.

sweetwater ran the project from start to finish, from the new brief through to creative and event production. It partnered with Chef Halawa, a self-taught Palestinian chef and friend of the agency, whose supper clubs are among the most sought-after tables in Dubai. For one night, his villa became Hell’s Kitchen, the New York neighbourhood where Daredevil is set. Each episode of the series became a course, and the lighting and tableware extended the world of the show. A live DJ played, and guests went home with curated gifts.

“You didn’t watch the story. You tasted it,” said Steven.

The project also reflects sweetwater’s Commerce, Culture, Change model. Under that model, global brands build real local relevance and use their influence to support the local economy. In this case, the agency was supporting Dubai’s independent hospitality and creative community when it needed it most. The SupperClub gave Disney+ a new experiential format for launches. It also earned coverage in Esquire Middle East, Campaign Middle East, Time Out Dubai, Gulf News and Complex.

“It’s not an easy decision for a global brand to replace a large-scale activation with a dinner in someone’s home,” said Steven. “Disney+ trusted us that intimate would have more impact than big at that moment, and it did.”

A souq where you can only share

For McCain, the problem was the freezer aisle, which Steven describes as “a cold, transactional place.” The regional brand team wanted a stronger connection with consumers in Saudi Arabia. It also wanted a sampling experience that adapted McCain’s global ‘Born to Share’ campaign to local culture.

sweetwater looked to the souq, the traditional Middle Eastern market where people have long tasted and shared food before buying. On 4 and 5 December 2025, a pop-up at Riyadh Boulevard City recreated a Saudi souq, with handcrafted wooden stalls, spice displays, and the sounds and scents of the market. It had one rule: you can’t buy, you can only share. Each visitor received an empty pouch and earned Fry Coins by completing a sharing task at each stall. The stalls included Share & Pair, the Sharing Scales, the Spice Stall, a shared photo booth and the Sharing Majlis. Visitors then traded the coins for hot fries, Saudi spice blends and other rewards. The packaging carried the same idea: a perforated tear-to-share pack that splits in half.

Saudi creators broadcast live from the souq and made their own content. “They told the McCain story their way, which is always more convincing than a brand telling it for them,” said Steven.

More than 21,000 people visited the souq, splitting and sharing over 4,000 fry packs. Live content reached 18 million people across two days and drove 4.2 million views. Storytelling from the souq’s merchants added 56 million impressions, and coverage in leading Saudi media brought more than 600,000 in earned reach.

“Two very different projects, one dinner table and one souq, and they proved the same thing,” said Steven. “Brands earn their place in this region by showing up for people, in their culture and on their terms. Disney+ and McCain trusted us to do that and our team delivered. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

What’s next

sweetwater is heading into a busy fourth quarter, with work for both long-standing and new clients. One highlight is Habba Habba for PRYPCO Blocks, a Dubai fintech platform that lets people buy fractions of a property. The campaign takes its name from an everyday Arabic phrase meaning “little by little.” It uses that phrase, and some humour, to explain fractional ownership. The campaign has just launched, and a consumer experience linked to it follows at the end of November. The agency also has content and experiential projects going live in food, eyewear, fashion and real estate.

Congratulations to the whole sweetwater team from everyone across the ICOM network.