Vodafone brings back the pug to peg instant connections

Vodafone has released a new campaign that propagates the superior quality of the telecom service provider's network. The campaign spread across print, TV and outdoor has been created by Ogilvy & Mather. The campaign includes three TVCs, one of which has just gone on air.

The TVC (shot in Kuala Lumpur) shows a teenage boy doting over a girl and one can gauge that the girl is equally fond of him. They keep exchanging looks and chuckles but fret not getting a chance to talk to each other and connect better. At this instant, the pug who has been observing their behaviour all this while, cleverly snatches away the girl's scarf and hurls it in front of the guy's feet. The girl instantly runs towards the guy in order to fetch her scarf, hence, getting a chance to come closer to him and have a conversation. The backdrop showcases how Vodafone enables instant connections.

Elaborating on the brief, Rajiv Rao, national creative director, Ogilvy & Mather, said, "The brief was to communicate the quality of the network. All this while we have been talking about the strength of the network. This time around, the brand has gone an extra mile to improve sound clarity, ensure no call dropping, and enable instant connection, to be precise."

On the pug's comeback in the TVC, Anuradha Aggarwal, vice president, brand communications and insight, Vodafone India, said, "The pug is a symbol of everything that is good about Vodafone." She added that the pug is brought in a campaign when there is a "brand business messaging to give", and therefore, the brief included pug's involvement. "The pug lent its charm to the messaging," she expressed.

Unplugged moments:
Kiran Anthony, senior creative director, Ogilvy & Mather, shared a few unplugged moments from the shoot on the set in Kuala Lumpur. He said, "A couple of trainers from Holland were hired to train the pug. By the time the shoot got over, the pug had spent so much time with the trainers that one could easily see it getting attached to them. It was a little difficult to handover the pug back to its owner." Anthony also mentioned that the pug had to do a lot of varied activities in this TVC as compared to the previous few TVCs and the trainers did a good job of training it.

Credits:

Client: Vodafone
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather
National creative director: Rajiv Rao
Creative: Rajiv Rao, Kiran Anthony, Shahrukh Irani, Jigi Dalal, Makarand Berde
National account head: Kapil Arora
Account management: Sarang Wahal, Paghna Bhatia, Himangi Kanodia, Ekta Mehta
Director: Prakash Varma
Producer: Sneha, Lisa
Production house: Nirvana Films
Media Agency: Maxus