LONDON, UK — A love story that represents the possibility of a new rural Ireland and a journey of transformation for local communities and the people that live there.
Vodafone Ireland‘s new Christmas advertising campaign, created by Grey London, shows a farmer pine for a woman who has moved abroad and only comes back during Christmas. The campaign film depicts an emotionally resonant reality of modern Ireland.
Played out across several Christmases, the film highlights the pair’s growing closeness, the sadness of their New Year goodbyes, and the trials of being apart over the intervening months. A happy ending twist comes when the young woman decides to return full-time, in-part thanks to Vodafone and its growing mobile and fixed networks, to open a business.
The idea, inspired by some powerful truths, two long-standing, one more recent. The first is the migration from rural to urban areas in search of advancement and opportunity. The second is the traditional pilgrimage home for Christmas to see family and friends – where the population swells in local communities the length and breadth of the country. The third and most important is that Vodafone customers can now live and work wherever they choose, confident in the knowledge that will always stay connected.
From the idea’s initial conception to final execution, authenticity was central to showcasing a true Irish experience: a local farmer was on set to advise on key scenes, the custom dog whistle was made by a local jeweller and the Wren Boys – where people dress in straw masks and suits on December 26th – was overseen by the local wren society.
Niall Reynolds, Vodafone Ireland marketing Manager, says, “This year’s Vodafone Ireland Christmas ad captures the growing feeling and reality that rural Ireland has begun a period of regeneration. With remote working a reality off the back of the necessities of the pandemic period and the quickening pace of Vodafone Ireland’s mobile and fibre broadband infrastructure expansion, more and more people are moving closer to loved ones and closer to where they want to call home.”
Pedro Rosa and Roberto Kilciauskas, Group Creative Directors from Grey London, says, “As expats, we’re sure that this story has universal appeal and will speak to the hearts of anyone that lives abroad or who has the opportunity to only visit their hometowns once a year, for just a few days before having to say goodbye again. That bittersweet feeling is always the beginning of a thought that every now and then can pop in one’s mind: ‘what if I stayed this time? What if I didn’t go back after Christmas?’”
Speaking to Vodafone’s core audience, families with kids, the commercial and accompanying campaign – which also spans VOD, online content, social and OOH – breaks ground on a new way of living, for a new, modern Ireland.
CREDITS
CLIENT VODAFONE IRELAND
Head of Consumer Brand ORLA NAGLE
Marketing Manager NIALL REYNOLDS
Advertising Comms Lead ROBIN PRENDERGAST
Brand Manager JANE LAWRENCE
AGENCY GREY
President & CCO LAURA JORDAN BAMBACH
Group Creative Directors ROBERTO KILCIAUSKAS & PEDRO ROSA
Creative JESSE LITTLE
CSO RAQUEL CHICOUREL
Planners FIONA KEYTE & THOMAS BUNNELL
Managing Partner NATHAN GAINFORD
Group Business Director AYESHA DATOO
Account Director GENEVIEVE JAYASEKERA
Account Manager CLYDE HURST
Account Executive NATASHA MEISEL
Agency Senior Producer LUCY EDWARDS
Agency Assistant Producer NANA DUNCAN
PRODUCTION COMPANY ACADEMY
Production Company Producer JULIETTE HARRIS
Production Company Executive Producer MEDB RIORDAN
Director US
D.O.P MOLLY MANNING WALKER
Production Design DEREK WALLACE
Post Producer DAN KREEGER @ TBA
Editor STEPHEN DUNNE @TENTHREE
Colourist SIMONE GRATTAROLA @ TBA
Executive Post Producer AMY RICHARDSON @ BLACK KITE
Music Supervisor NICK PAYNE & JEREMY NEWTON @ SIXTY-FOUR MUSIC
Lead Sound Engineer SAM ASHWELL @ 750MPH
Sound Engineer MIKE BOVILL @ 750MPH
Post Sound Producer KIRSTEN TROY @ 750MPH
VFX Artist NINA MOSAND
Composer JEREMY BIRCHALL
