Since launching its ‘Do your thing better’ brand a few years back, Vodafone has generally looked for laughs rather than warm fuzzies (although it managed to tug a few heartstrings with its Warriors stunt on mother’s day). But it decided to focus on the emotional power of connection for its Christmas push and it’s taken Colmar Brunton’s Ad Impact Award for its efforts.
Liz Wilson, Head of Consumer Brand & Comms, Vodafone said: “Christmas is a time when friends and families get together but sometimes it’s not always possible to be with all of those you love. We wanted to celebrate this time of connection and show how, with a little help from technology, you can be together even if you aren’t physically close.”
Frontman James Rolleston has proven himself in both comedic and serious roles. So playing the loved-up boyfriend isn’t much of a stretch. Colmar Brunton’s senior account director Harriet Dixon says the soft music playing in the background helped bring out a pleasant, soothing and gentle tone to the ad, which created high levels of enjoyment throughout and also broke through the clutter amidst plenty of other Christmas themed ads.
“With its trademark style and tried-and-true casting, viewers agreed that the ad was well branded to Vodafone and had creative that was highly believable and easy to understand,” she says. “The ad did well to play off viewers’ emotions, leading to the highest passive engagement score we have seen all year. The emotion, content and delivery of the creative resonated well with consumers, making the brand seem more appealing and scoring significantly higher than our norms.”
A special mention goes to Airbnb whose introductory advert, showing an artsy miniature world, was seen as different by viewers and Kiwibank’s ‘Independence’ creative, which was seen as credible and drove strong brand appeal.
Airbnb has made some quality ads in its time, with everything from the charming and inventive crowd-sourced film Hollywood & Vines to the rather enticing spot for its recent—and slightly controversial—rebrand. And this stunner was made with the help of Kiwi animation house Cirkus.
