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TBWA\RAAD and KFC Arabia Win TikTok's Highest Honor for Turning Om Bdr’s Homemade Seasoning into Saudi Arabia's Fastest Sellout
(MENAFN- OMC) Dubai, January 22, 2026 – TBWA\RAAD and KFC Arabia took home the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) trophy at the TikTok Ad Awards in Saudi Arabia, the platform's highest creative honor, reserved for a single campaign that pushes boundaries, feels native to TikTok, and delivers undeniable results.
The winning ‘Om Bdr-12th Ingredient’ campaign didn't start in a boardroom or a brainstorming session. It started with Saudi TikTok users pouring Srar Hail, a spicy seasoning created by a local cook named Om Bdr from the town of Hail, over their KFC chicken. When the behavior became a pattern, KFC and TBWA\RAAD saw a cultural signal, not a trend to hijack.
Instead of mimicking the moment, they made it official: KFC partnered with Om Bdr to bring her seasoning into stores as the brand's "unofficial 12th herb and spice", turning a community mashup into a limited-edition menu item that honored its origin.
"Winning G.O.A.T. is a testament to what happens when brands start listening to their audiences", said Ahmed Arafa, Chief Marketing Officer at KFC Arabia. "We didn't borrow the trend, or ride a viral wave, we made the creator a partner. This campaign was about respecting where the idea came from, crediting the community that discovered it, and turning cultural momentum into something real. Om Bdr's seasoning belonged on our menu because our customers put it there first. This award belongs to our customers, Om Bdr, and an incredible team that had the courage to let culture lead.”
The campaign itself rejected the playbook. No cinematic spots. No polished studios. Just real KFC stores, minimal setups, Saudi reporters breaking the news, and over 35 local creators amplifying it in their own voices. Om Bdr appeared as herself, unfiltered and unmistakably authentic.
"Disruption® isn't just about doing things differently. It's about showing up where your consumers are, listening to what they're already doing, and building from cultural truth, not creative convention", said Reda Raad, Group CEO at TBWA\RAAD. " ‘Om Bdr-12th Ingredient’ proves that the future of creativity in this region isn't about importing global playbooks. It's about trusting local intelligence, empowering brave clients like KFC Arabia, and building work that could only exist here. This G.O.A.T. win isn't just ours, it's a signal to every brand in the Middle East that culturally rooted, platform-native thinking wins."
The results were immediate and measurable. The product sold out in under three weeks. KFC Saudi recorded its highest sales mix to date. Om Bdr sold out of her own seasoning. And the campaign earned TikTok's top creative prize.
Winning G.O.A.T. recognizes work that doesn't just perform on TikTok, it belongs there. For KFC and TBWA\RAAD, the lesson is clear: the most effective creativity today doesn't interrupt culture. It contributes to it.
Link to film: @kfcarabia/video/7530285454260800775?_r=1&_t=ZS-93HMe2OK59p
--
About TBWA\RAAD:
TBWA\RAAD was established in the United Arab Emirates in 2000 to develop and expand TBWA Worldwide’s presence across the Middle East and Africa. We are The Disruption® Company, a collective of creative minds with an unlimited creative canvas. We create brand platforms that defy convention and compete with culture. Thanks to our trademarked Disruption® methodology, we build the world’s strongest brands. Brands that own an unfair share of the future.
Named Best Place to Work in the World and in the Middle East by Campaign, one of the Middle East’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company Middle East in 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022, one of the Best Workplaces for Women in the Middle East in 2024 by Fast Company Middle East, Adweek's 2024, 2022, 2021, and 2018 Global Agency of the Year and Ad Age’s A-List 2022 Network of the Year.
Our collective is made up of 11,000+ creative minds in over 40 countries with expertise across the total brand experience — from retail to social and digital, from B2B to experiential, from innovation to production, from design to content. Our regional clients include: Abu Dhabi Government Media Office, Adobe, Apple, AWR Rostomani Arabian Automobiles, Careem, CNN, Commercial Bank of Dubai, du, Essence, Etihad Rail, First Gulf Company, Gatorade, Henkel, Hilton, Infiniti, Johns Hopkins, KFC, Meta, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, NEOM, Nissan, Pfizer, Philips, Pladis, Qatar Museums.
About KFC:
KFC, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM.), is a global chicken restaurant brand with a rich, decades-long history of success and innovation. It all started with one cook, Colonel Harland Sanders, who created a finger-lickin' good recipe more than 75 years ago, a list of secret herbs and spices scratched out on the back of the door to his kitchen. Today we still follow his formula for success, with real cooks breading and freshly preparing our delicious chicken by hand in more than 28,000 restaurants in more than 145 countries and territories around the world. KFC operates in the MENA region (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia), Turkey, Pakistan and Central Asia, with more than 1,400 franchised units.
About Omnicom Advertising:
Omnicom is ranked #1 by Forrester in its Creative rankings thanks to the breadth and depth of Omnicom Advertising. As one of Omnicom's Connected Capabilities, it includes leading global networks; BBDO, McCann and TBWA, as well as some of the most successful creative boutiques in the world including Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Lucky Generals, Deutsch and many more. The group includes innovation-leading agencies such digital experience engineers, dotdotdash, multicultural specialists such as Dieste and Alma, alongside content creator agencies such as AMV Native and McCann Content Studios. Its client portfolio represents all of the top 5, 8 out of the top 10, and almost two thirds of Interbrand’s 100 Best Global Brands in 2025 including Apple, McDonalds, Mastercard, Unilever, Nestlé and L'Oréal.
The winning ‘Om Bdr-12th Ingredient’ campaign didn't start in a boardroom or a brainstorming session. It started with Saudi TikTok users pouring Srar Hail, a spicy seasoning created by a local cook named Om Bdr from the town of Hail, over their KFC chicken. When the behavior became a pattern, KFC and TBWA\RAAD saw a cultural signal, not a trend to hijack.
Instead of mimicking the moment, they made it official: KFC partnered with Om Bdr to bring her seasoning into stores as the brand's "unofficial 12th herb and spice", turning a community mashup into a limited-edition menu item that honored its origin.
"Winning G.O.A.T. is a testament to what happens when brands start listening to their audiences", said Ahmed Arafa, Chief Marketing Officer at KFC Arabia. "We didn't borrow the trend, or ride a viral wave, we made the creator a partner. This campaign was about respecting where the idea came from, crediting the community that discovered it, and turning cultural momentum into something real. Om Bdr's seasoning belonged on our menu because our customers put it there first. This award belongs to our customers, Om Bdr, and an incredible team that had the courage to let culture lead.”
The campaign itself rejected the playbook. No cinematic spots. No polished studios. Just real KFC stores, minimal setups, Saudi reporters breaking the news, and over 35 local creators amplifying it in their own voices. Om Bdr appeared as herself, unfiltered and unmistakably authentic.
"Disruption® isn't just about doing things differently. It's about showing up where your consumers are, listening to what they're already doing, and building from cultural truth, not creative convention", said Reda Raad, Group CEO at TBWA\RAAD. " ‘Om Bdr-12th Ingredient’ proves that the future of creativity in this region isn't about importing global playbooks. It's about trusting local intelligence, empowering brave clients like KFC Arabia, and building work that could only exist here. This G.O.A.T. win isn't just ours, it's a signal to every brand in the Middle East that culturally rooted, platform-native thinking wins."
The results were immediate and measurable. The product sold out in under three weeks. KFC Saudi recorded its highest sales mix to date. Om Bdr sold out of her own seasoning. And the campaign earned TikTok's top creative prize.
Winning G.O.A.T. recognizes work that doesn't just perform on TikTok, it belongs there. For KFC and TBWA\RAAD, the lesson is clear: the most effective creativity today doesn't interrupt culture. It contributes to it.
Link to film: @kfcarabia/video/7530285454260800775?_r=1&_t=ZS-93HMe2OK59p
--
About TBWA\RAAD:
TBWA\RAAD was established in the United Arab Emirates in 2000 to develop and expand TBWA Worldwide’s presence across the Middle East and Africa. We are The Disruption® Company, a collective of creative minds with an unlimited creative canvas. We create brand platforms that defy convention and compete with culture. Thanks to our trademarked Disruption® methodology, we build the world’s strongest brands. Brands that own an unfair share of the future.
Named Best Place to Work in the World and in the Middle East by Campaign, one of the Middle East’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company Middle East in 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022, one of the Best Workplaces for Women in the Middle East in 2024 by Fast Company Middle East, Adweek's 2024, 2022, 2021, and 2018 Global Agency of the Year and Ad Age’s A-List 2022 Network of the Year.
Our collective is made up of 11,000+ creative minds in over 40 countries with expertise across the total brand experience — from retail to social and digital, from B2B to experiential, from innovation to production, from design to content. Our regional clients include: Abu Dhabi Government Media Office, Adobe, Apple, AWR Rostomani Arabian Automobiles, Careem, CNN, Commercial Bank of Dubai, du, Essence, Etihad Rail, First Gulf Company, Gatorade, Henkel, Hilton, Infiniti, Johns Hopkins, KFC, Meta, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, NEOM, Nissan, Pfizer, Philips, Pladis, Qatar Museums.
About KFC:
KFC, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM.), is a global chicken restaurant brand with a rich, decades-long history of success and innovation. It all started with one cook, Colonel Harland Sanders, who created a finger-lickin' good recipe more than 75 years ago, a list of secret herbs and spices scratched out on the back of the door to his kitchen. Today we still follow his formula for success, with real cooks breading and freshly preparing our delicious chicken by hand in more than 28,000 restaurants in more than 145 countries and territories around the world. KFC operates in the MENA region (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia), Turkey, Pakistan and Central Asia, with more than 1,400 franchised units.
About Omnicom Advertising:
Omnicom is ranked #1 by Forrester in its Creative rankings thanks to the breadth and depth of Omnicom Advertising. As one of Omnicom's Connected Capabilities, it includes leading global networks; BBDO, McCann and TBWA, as well as some of the most successful creative boutiques in the world including Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Lucky Generals, Deutsch and many more. The group includes innovation-leading agencies such digital experience engineers, dotdotdash, multicultural specialists such as Dieste and Alma, alongside content creator agencies such as AMV Native and McCann Content Studios. Its client portfolio represents all of the top 5, 8 out of the top 10, and almost two thirds of Interbrand’s 100 Best Global Brands in 2025 including Apple, McDonalds, Mastercard, Unilever, Nestlé and L'Oréal.
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