Ascia Al Faraj has been chosen as the regional face for New Balance – a global athletic brand – for their upcoming campaign Energize a Generation. The campaign – which celebrates the launch of New Balance’s NB Collective shoe line – will feature Al Faraj hosting a live panel discussion on Instagram that will be focused on ‘Energizing Women’ in the region.
The digital creator excitedly shared the announcement on her Instagram earlier this week:
“Proud to announce that I am the first Middle Eastern female brand ambassador of New Balance. A whole brand ambassador you guys. A whole face of the brand”.
Following her announcement, Stuart Henwood – the general for New Balance Middle East and Egypt – gave a statement on why Ascia was the perfect choice to be New Balance’s first Middle Eastern ambassador:
“Ascia embodies the fearlessly independent nature of New Balance. The synergies with Ascia vision and core values is why this partnership with Ascia is a game changer for us at a time of exciting evolution within the region.”
Henwood’s assessment of Ascia’s vision and core values fits perfectly with how the influencer uses her social media. From Black Lives Matter to Arab Women Empowerment, Ascia often shares her opinion about a wide range of social issues on Instagram. For example, Ascia’s strong views on female harassment in the Middle East sparked a #lan_asket movement – with Arabic women using the hashtag to shed light on their own experiences with sexual harassment . Moreover, Ascia’s desire to promote authentic conversations on social media falls in line perfectly with what she wants to achieve as New Balance’s first Middle Eastern brand ambassador.
In a video shared to her Instagram, Ascia explains that she wants to “energize the generation by being consistent with my messaging. I want to make sure that authenticity is the highest form of what’s coming across online and offline and if we are able to promote more authenticity in a community and more empathy in a community. I think that’s the most energizing element of a generation”.