Ad of the Day: Vodafone’s nostalgic spot celebrates 40 years of festive connections
The ad from Leo Burnett is a trip down memory lane, showcasing phones from the past four decades.
Vodafone has released its Christmas ad, which takes viewers across time, from the advent of the mobile to the present day.
Since 1984, Vodafone has kept the nation connected during the festive season. The first mobile phone call, made on January 1, 1985, and the first text message, sent on December 3, 1992, reading “Merry Christmas,” were both powered by the Vodafone network.
Its nostalgic Christmas spot looks back at these last four decades and highlights that while technology has changed - from brick phones to smartphones - the feeling of speaking with friends and family during the festive season remains the same.
The campaign also includes a nationwide out-of-home push, celebrating the evolution of phones, from early text messages to today’s multimedia exchanges.
Additionally, a four-part social content series featuring Roman Kemp and his mum, Shirlie, explores how phones have changed over the past 40 years. The series blends nostalgia with humor as they take on challenges like texting on a Nokia 3310, taking selfies on a GX10, plus communicating with emojis, all while reminiscing about Christmas memories.
Want to go deeper? Ask The Drum
Credits
Campaign title: Christmas
Client: Vodafone UK
Advertising agency: Leo Burnett
Chief creative officer: Mark Elwood
Creative director: Rob Tenconi
Social creative director: Beth Manning
Creative: Matt Wood and Tom Loveless
Chief production officer: Emily Marr
Executive producer: Megan O’Hagan
Producer: Kate Reynolds
Production support: Sara Gill
Managing partner: Marie-Louise Robinson
Client partner: Matt René
Account director: Alice Pavey
Account manager: Ellie Glover
Account executive: Missy Maiklem
Head of project management: Emily Patterson
Project director: Jon Purr
Design creative director: David Allen
Planning partner: Ila De Mello Kamath
Senior planner: Jenika Tanqueray
Senior strategist: Ilana Green
Media buying agency: Carat
Managing partner: Natalie De Cruz
Planning partner: Jamie Truscott Howell
Strategy partner: Rupert Beck
Media planner: Kate Burrows
Account director: Samuel Staniforth
Account manager: Laila Casey-Walsh
Production company: Smuggler
Director: Tom Speers
Managing director: Fergus Brown
Managing director/ executive producer: Lucy Kelly
Director of photography: Suzie Lavelle
Production company producer: Lucy Gossage
Production manager: Meghan Young
Production coordinator: Georgie Dale
Production assistant: Kamran Marzban
Production runner: Lily Carpenter
Production designer: Lucie Red
Wardrobe stylist: Sarah Blenkinsop
1st assistant director: Joe Carter
Editor: Eve Ashwell
Edit house: The Assembly Rooms
Audio post-production company: 750PMH
Sound design and mix: Jake Ashwell and Sam Ashwell
Audio producer: Olivia Ray
Post-production company: Harbor
Visual effects lead: Joe Tang
Post-production producer: Hannah Jarrold
Color post-production: Black Kite Studios
Colorist: Tom Mangham
Color producer: Phil Whalley
Music supervision: Wake The Town
Music supervisor: Sam MacNamara
Vodafone
Brand director: Maria Koutsoudakis
Head of brand: Kshitij Desai
Head of social: Jordan Stone
Social brand manager: Nina Ruberry
Brand and marketing manager: Emmeline Manning
CCS Insight
Technology advisor: Ben Wood
Advertisement