Vodafone 'delights', again

Vodafone has brought back its 'Delights' campaign launched in October 2011. The second phase of 'Vodafone Delights' created by Ogilvy & Mather will feature three commercials, one each for a special offer from the telco. Running for six weeks, the campaign will also engage through radio, print, outdoor, on-ground and digital media. The second leg of ‘Delights’ also dwells on the friendship theme, much like its predecessor - only this time, it showcases the budding friendship between an old man and a teenage boy. Every time the young man visit’s the elder gentleman’s home, he gets a gift from the latter. Announcing the first of the new set of ‘Delights‘, Vodafone ends the commercial saying ‘Get a gift when you visit our store’. The cellular service provider will give all Vodafone customers walking into its stores a special offer every month.

The lowdown
The TVC, shot in Colombo, shows a boy nervously ringing the bell of an old man's house to hand over a few mails. The old man (with a stern look on his face) takes the mails swiftly and gives the boy an apple in return. The boy looks happy and confused all at once. His curiosity rises and he visits the old man's house repeatedly. Each time, the old man gives him something to take home, be it a pen or a mouth organ. The story ends with a smile on the old man's face, born of bringing the young man joy with each gift. The last frame of the film announces that a Vodafone customer will get a gift on visiting its stores.

The other two TVCs of the campaign will be released in the next two weeks, highlighting more offers from Vodafone (Birthday Gift, Happy Hours). Anuradha Aggarwal, senior vice president - brand and communication insights, Vodafone India, said, "Vodafone Delights is a platform that we use to surprise our customers with little delights and show them that we care."

On the timing of this campaign, she explained, "We had taken a communication hiatus for a month post IPL before releasing a new campaign and we are following the same timing strategy on the current campaign. We alternate between category consumption driving and brand stickiness enhancement activities. The strategy for the current campaign is the latter one."

"The key measure of the effectiveness of the campaign will be hard numbers on the penetration of our three products viz. Thank You card, Birthday Offer and Happy Hours," she added.

On the creative execution, Kapil Arora, country head - Team Vodafone, Ogilvy & Mather, said, "The lead offerings chosen for this round of the Vodafone Delights program are little ways of thanking our customers for being with us. And we chose to bring that to life using the story of a wonderful friendship between a teenage boy and his neighbour."

Unplugged moments:
Arora recalled a few instances from the shoot. He said, "Mr Patel, the old man in the film, amazed everyone with his energy levels. He was giving a lot of the younger people a run for their money. Also, unlike many other shoots, we were actually hoping for a bit of overcast conditions, because they made for the perfect lighting the director had in mind for the films."

Credits:

Client: Vodafone India
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather
National creative director: Rajiv Rao
Country head - Team Vodafone: Kapil Arora
Senior creative directors: Elizabeth Dias, Srreram Athray
Creative team: Rajiv Rao, Elizabeth Dias, Srreram Athray, Savio Alva, Sanket Wadwalkar
Account management: Sarang Wahal, Paghna Bhatia, Himangi Kanodia, Ekta Mehta
Planning: Anoop Menon
Digital: Gaurav Magotra, Jay Mavani, Mahek Shah
Director: Prakash Varma
Producer: Nirvana Films, Lisa DCosta
Media agency: Maxus