The archive · PR & Stunts · Marketing decision · 2026
ForteBank casts Almaty's viral human chain in bronze — MAD STARS 2026 PR Grand Prix
A Kazakh corporate bank turned a decade-old video of strangers rescuing a dog into an interactive bronze sculpture anyone can join.
ForteBank
What it had to solve
ForteBank, historically a corporate lender, was expanding into the mass market and needed an emotional connection. A decade earlier a video from Almaty had gone viral: strangers formed a human chain to pull a stranded dog off the Sayran reservoir wall.
How it works
About a decade before the monument, a dog became stranded on the steep concrete wall of Almaty's Sayran reservoir. Strangers stopped, joined hands and formed a human chain, pulling the animal to safety while someone filmed it; the clip spread around the world, and commenters in dozens of languages said the same thing — that people will help when it counts.
ForteBank, a bank long known for corporate clients, was moving into the mass market and needed to be liked, not just trusted. With agency Progression CA and sculptor Yerbosyn Meldibekov, it cast that moment in bronze and placed it on the reservoir embankment where it happened — with one deliberate twist: the final figure's hand extends beyond the railing, so any passer-by can take it and complete the chain.
Unveiled on March 22, 2026, the sculpture needed no paid media. Photos spread organically before the opening — one Instagram post gathered more than 40 million views — and the project reached an estimated 805 million organic views across 104 countries, with tens of thousands of visitors physically joining the chain. MAD STARS 2026 gave it the PR Stars Grand Prix.
Why it lands
- The brand claim is demonstrated, not asserted: a sculpture about solidarity that visitors can complete proves the value in the act of joining.
- It reused a cultural asset the city already owned — a beloved viral moment — so the story was instantly recognizable and emotionally loaded.
- The open hand created a participation mechanic: everyone who joined produced new photos and new shares, compounding reach without paid media.
What it did
With a zero media budget the monument went viral before its opening — one Instagram post drew 40M+ views and 2M+ likes. The campaign reached an estimated 805M+ organic views across 104 countries, 16M+ people in Kazakhstan (population 20M), and $20M+ in earned media, and ForteBank became the country's most talked-about brand within four days. It won the PR Stars Grand Prix at MAD STARS 2026.
What you can take
When a brand's value can be pointed at instead of claimed, let people touch it: the open hand turned an audience into participants, and their photos carried the story further than paid media could.
Since then
The installation became Kazakhstan's most covered viral campaign — an estimated 805M+ organic views across 104 countries, $20M+ in earned media and a national pride moment, according to the agency. ForteBank keeps the sculpture as a permanent symbol of solidarity, and MAD STARS 2026 recognized the work with the PR Stars Grand Prix.
Sources
- Almaty brings people together with 'Unity' art installation celebrating human solidarity
- ForteBank: Humanity Chain
- TBWA\Hakuhodo, FP7 McCann lead MAD STARS 2026 with Grand Prix of the Year wins with 'Radio Time Machine', 'Recipe for Change'
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