Vodafone Australia embraces its inner ‘Kidult’ in new television spot via Ogilvy & Mather Sydney
In its boldest campaign creative to date, Vodafone has launched the first in a series of TVCs that introduce the ‘Kidult’; a creative treatment that characterises adults who embrace their inner child via Ogilvy & Mather Sydney.
The Kidult campaign marks a significant return to brave, fun and youthful positioning for Vodafone, and is part of a far-reaching refresh of its overall brand. The first of the TVCs went live last night (Sunday, September 15) with a range of other creative executions to be rolled out in coming weeks.
Says Nathan Quailey, general manager of Ogilvy & Mather Sydney: “The Kidult creative is bringing the brand back to its customers’ attitudes. They’re people who look at the world in a different way, as though seeing it for the first time.
“It is deliberately different to the rest of the category, to capture the attention of consumers out there who relate to being adventurous, optimistic and cheeky. People who may currently be with another mobile provider but find they don’t ‘fit’ with the brand.”
Ogilvy’s chief creative officer Steve Back confirmed the creative was designed to “grab people’s attention and reappraise the brand”.
Says Back: “The Kidult campaign deliberately sets a new course for the brand, one that is bold and confident and reflects the positive changes at Vodafone.”
Shot in a variety of locations in Sydney and New York, the TVCs were directed by Ash Bolland from Curious Films.
With broad experience in directing TVCs for some of the world’s leading brands including HSBC, Coca-Cola, Discovery Channel, HBO and Unilever, Bolland also has a slew of creative awards under his belt.
Under Bolland’s direction the ‘Kidult’ TVC took six days to shoot on location, with babies filmed separately over a period of days in a studio on green screen. Their heads were then composited onto the adult bodies during a lengthy and involved post-production process.
Curious Film executive producer Peter Grasse was impressed with how Bolland executed the unbelievable believably.
Says Grasse: “It was a brave idea and Ash pulled it off. It’s a universally fun script created by and for a fun collective of wildly creative people. We are very proud.”
Says Back: “The process posed a pretty big technical challenge. First we shot all sorts of scenes with actors, wearing caps with special tracking markers on their heads, and then we edited those shots into a final 60 sec spot.
“After that was finalised, we moved into baby time, which involved a massive three-day exercise of getting exactly the right looks, moves and reactions out of more than 60 babies. It then became a technical challenge of seamlessly and painstakingly joining the baby heads to the action, frame by frame to come up with the finished product.”
Back said this process was undertaken by some of Australia’s most talented post production specialists, Alt.vfx.
Says Back: “We also chose the memorable ‘I feel just like a child’ track by Venezuela-born Devendra Banhart to bring energy and life to the idea. The music is guitar pop at its best and keeps the spot stomping along with childish abandon.”
The TVCs are part of a broader, multi-million dollar brand campaign which began rolling out in Australia last week, which asks consumers to “Discover the New” Vodafone. More than 50 billboards have already been launched with press and outdoor furniture instalments to come, also developed by Ogilvy Sydney.
Vodafone’s general manager, brand & communications, Jana Kotatko said it was hoped ‘Kidults’ would grab the attention of Australian consumers and encourage them reassess Vodafone and see what’s changed.
Says Kotatko: “We wanted to powerfully land the message ‘this is a new Vodafone’. With lightning-fast 4G, 40% more coverage across Australia, launch of our highly competitive Red plans and market-leading $5 global roaming offer, this is more than an advertising campaign – it’s a signal that we’ve changed the way we do business and what we offer to our customers.”
The brand refresh and Kidult campaign was created by a major collaborative effort across a number of STW’s leading agencies, including Ogilvy Sydney (creative), Bohemia (media strategy), Ikon (media buying), DT Sydney (online) and OgilvyOne (customer communication strategy). It forms part of a world-wide refresh of Vodafone’s core brand design elements, with Australia the first market to rollout the new look.
Says Quailey: “We are extremely proud that as a group we can be a part of this moment, a moment where we start to really step change a great global brand and help to restore it to its rightful place here in Australia.”
Client – Vodafone
Kim Clarke – Chief Marketing Officer
Jana Kotatko – General Manager, Brand & Marketing Communications
Rachael Butler – Head of Brand & Creative Strategy
Rob Morrison – Head of Creative, Vodafone
Shawn Marsh – Head of Campaigns & Media
Nadine Cran – Senior Campaign Manager
Lisa Van Ross – Senior Campaign Manager
STW Group
Fleur Marks – STW Group Business Director, Vodafone
Ogilvy & Mather Sydney
Nathan Quailey – General Manager
Steve Back – Chief Creative Officer
Graham Johnson – Senior Art Director
Oliver Devaris – Senior Copywriter
Mark Sareff – National Head of Strategy
Gerry Cyron – Head of Brand Strategy
Katie Dally – Group Account Director
Rachael Allen – Account Director
Gemma Troup – Account Manager
Gabe Hammond – Producer, One20
Production
Curious Film
Director : Ash Bolland
Executive Producer : Pete Grasse
Producer : Tara Riddell
The Editors
Editor: Bernard Garry, ASE
Editor: Daniel Lee
Editorial Producer: Nicoletta Rousianos
Alt.vfx
VFX Supervisor: Jesse Bradstreet
2D Supervisor: Matt Chance
Lead Flame Artist: Urs Furrer
Compositor: Karen Fabling, Mick Harkin, Murray Smallwood, Mark Doney
Online Editor: Matt Bennett
VFX Assistant; Sean Ryan
Executive Producer: Takeshi Takada
30 Comments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVCRKA4Aioc&sns=em
like a really bad version of Maccas “inner child” from years ago. and an awful track t’ boot.
great spot
Shame it’s so similar to this PlayStation spot from 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nOWhvAkkHGY#t=42
tired old strategy being wheeled out again like a circus freak and then badly executed in the creepiest possible way.
I feel like I’ve seen this ad a million times before….but infinitely better.
Creepy!
Super creepy
So nobody sat and wondered if showing adult women in tight dresses with female toddler faces was a touch… wrong?
I find it odd everyone who posts here always bags clients and agencies for doing bland work, yet when a brand at least does some creative work they slate that too. Although I’m not a Vodafone fan, I applaud them lifting the creative standard of the telco category. Nice work
I feel in needs a Aphex Twin sound track.
Its great to see quality on our TV screens for once – great work!
Humans with cats heads- Toyota, Humans with mice heads- Levis, Humans with kids heads- Playstation. it’s better than what Vodafone have been doing, but it’s the same as many that have gone before. Old ideas will always come back.
Creepy. But I like it. Sadly that probably says more about me than the Vodafone or Ogilvy
Music track does not help at all.. way to obvious direct lyrics..
Love this. It’s just the shot in the arm Vodafone need. And is the best work that brand is doing globally. Let’s hope the rest of the world falls in line and starts making work that’s as arresting and interesting. Looking forward to seeing how this explodes onto other channels too.
Love this. Best work Vodafone has done globally. Love to see how the idea has been used on other channels. Exactly the shot in the arm Vodafone needed.
Truly Amazing – this one took me out of ad world and watched it as little movie, made me happy to be working in oz again. Thanks for the inspiration to push my clients more.
So done.
And PS when Evian did it, it was 2009. Roller babies?
4 years on and with so many leaps in technology i’d expect the VFX to look better.
Fail on all fronts.
Great to see cool work come out of Ogilvy. Some will like – others wont. Isnt that what good advertising is all about? The usual bitter and smug critics on this blog seem to know of some secret formula to success in advertising – but interestingly never share it – they just sit on the sideline and throw stones. God we are a cynical industry. Good on you Ogilvy and Vodafone for having a go at doing something interesting, thought-provoking and well-crafted!
Oh, I so love to see the agency responsible for a CB Press Release desperately defending it.
So, apart from the fact that it’s been done many times and it sexualises children, what the hell is so groundbreaking about it?
Apart from on here, the overwhelming reaction to it on almost every other site and social media is the word ‘creepy.’
WPP, nuff said, and the music is beyond annoying.
Paedofone.
You have to be slightly stupid to sign up with Vodafone, so this ad should work perfectly.
Vodafone. For people with the mental capacity of toddlers.
Nice to see another lot of silly old creatives trying desperately to be cool and win awards. Are you by any chance Muna, MN and Poppy?
It’s a very cool ad and song. Only creepy people would find this creepy!
It was done here first:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDK1BCOM138
This ad turned me off my dinner – not only un-original – but it made me feel sick seeing baby heads with boobs eww – how did this get through the adverstising standards board – when they are so strict on stuff way less yuck than this..!
Everybody sing along:
Well, I feel just like a child (with breasts)
Yeah I feel just like a child (yep, I said breasts)
Well, I feel just like a child (I can’t believe they gave me breasts!)
Well, I feel just like a child (or more like some kind of adult-child hybrid freak, thanks Vodafone)
From my womb to my tomb (I’ve got a womb too now??? And breasts)
I guess I’ll always be a child…
Etc.
I like it. Something different. Music could be younger, but otherwise fun.
This is more a conversation between rival music companies and out of work creatives than anything. Such a small and vicious community you are.