The Campaign: The new Vodafone TVC opens to a frame where a young boy, sitting beside a damaged scooter (the headlight to be precise), makes a panic call to his elder brother. The elder one works in Delhi. So, the younger one begins by asking him about the Delhi weather conditions. The elder brother is used to his younger sibling?s gimmicks is understood from his reactions. Both siblings are in the same frame and as soon as the younger one finishes, the older brother asks: “So you want money again? What have you done now?”
The younger brother is forced to come clean. He narrates how he hit their dad?s dear-old scooter to a tree and caused damage worth R 3,000. He pleads him for the money and swears on their mother that the amount would be repaid.
Some more drama and emotional blackmail ensues as he one reminds his older sibling that he is after all his younger brother and therefore, should be helped.
The older brother happily gives in to the coaxing but not without putting a condition that he shouldn?t enquire about the “weather condition” in Delhi for the next six months.
Not the one to give up, the younger brother places the blame of the situation on the elder brother and says the situation would not have arisen had he bought him a bike. The elder brother asks him to hang up and eventually, two mobile graphics appear on the screen which show money flowing from one handset to another. ?
Our Take: There is no denying the ad beautifully captures the love-hate relationship of siblings. The love and the cheekiness are aptly constructed in the storyline. It is, indeed, a good commercial if creativity was to be the only parameter to judge it on.
The commercial, however, was meant to introduce the mobile money transfer and payment services – M-Pesa – launched by Vodafone. While Ogilvy India?s tagline for the ad – “It?s as good as handing over the money yourself”, lends a personal and emotional touch to the whole narrative, it completely fails in putting in context what ?mobile wallet? is all about.
To be sure, it is difficult to capture everything in a small 10-second ad yet it was important to have given viewers, who do not know anything about money transfer on mobile phones, some idea about the concept. A simple line at the end such as ?to know more about the service please go to XYZ.com? could have done the job.
That said, it was yet another endearing story come out for Vodafone from the Ogilvy stable.
Campaign: Apne Haathon Dene Jaisa
Brand: Vodafone M – Pesa
Company : Vodafone India
Agency: Ogilvy India