Vodafone still ‘making the most of now’

Vodafone’s new communication is out. This time, the focus is on its alerts service and the ads are fully visual ads without any dialogue

After the re-branding, Vodafone is still gung-ho about its communication. It released its Surprises and Call Filter commercials, which featured its original HnI characters, soon after the re-branding. Vodafone has now released its next set of television commercials (TVCs), and these draw attention to another service, alerts. Four of the five ads in the set are out on television. O&M is the agency responsible for the ads.

The first TVC in the set is Astrology Alert, which shows a man hanging around in an elevator all day because his horoscope says he’ll find his soul mate in the lift that day. The second TVC, News Alert, shows a man in a supermarket filling up his trolley with all the onions available there because his Vodafone news alert told him that onion prices were going to rise. (Submit your opinion on these ads.)

Next in line is Art of Living Alert. A woman who is very upset with her husband is screaming at him without pause at the breakfast table, while he just stares at her. She hurls a pillow at him, but he meekly lifts the pillow and gives it back to her, only to have it thrown back at him. This continues till the woman finally calms down. The super says, “A calm mind can overcome even a storm.” Cricket Alert shows a man pacing the corridor of a maternity home. The film ends with the super, “India needs six runs from two balls.”

The last TVC, which is yet to be aired, is about beauty tips. A girl is shown running around to catch a goat. The film ends with the super saying, “Goat’s milk is good for the skin.”

All the TVCs end with a second super that says, “Make the most of now.” The unique feature of the ads is that they use no dialogue – they are totally visual ads.

The brief given to O&M was to generate awareness and interest in Vodafone’s alerts service. Rajiv Rao, creative head for the account at O&M, says, “We chose to communicate a mix of popular (news, cricket) and interesting new subjects (art of living, beauty tips) as triggers to get a wider set of people to engage with the brand.”

Various other media have been engaged as part of the campaign, such as radio, print, outdoor and below the line activities in the form of posters and in-store placements. One radio ad has a person talking when he is suddenly interrupted by an alert. In another ad, a person is singing in the bathroom when he is interrupted by an alert.

The print campaigns are along similar lines. A parrot depicts Vodafone’s astro alerts and a bull symbolises its stock alerts. Rao refused to comment on whether Vodafone would focus on all its services in a similar manner.