Vodafone has had a rough time of it in Australia recently, losing 1.5 million customers since 2011, facing the threat of a class action suit by unhappy customers and reporting a massive AU$899 million loss last year. Now it’s reintroducing the brand to the nation and asking consumers to ‘Discover the New’—and it’s done it by creating a fairly strange campaign that aims to get mobile phone users to see the world like a child again.
As Nic Christensen points out on Mumbrella, while it’s an interesting creative idea that might work for a well-liked brand, “it doesn’t emphasise the substantial investment Vodafone has made in improving its mobile coverage nor does it address the key issue facing the company: a lack of confidence / trust in the brand among consumers. (Anyone remember: Vodafail?).”
Still, as Adweek sums in its ten scariest babies in advertising post: “Babies. Regular people love them because they’re cute and they look funny. Ad people love them because regular people love them, and pay attention to them—even in ads. The product? Doesn’t matter. The message? Not really important. Just put a crazy baby in the spot. It’s a catchall strategy.”
