Vodafone Group, Mannequin

Members:

2003 Television 73% Report A Problem

A group of three fashionable friends walk down the city sidewalk when they pass a store window featuring a mannequin dressed in a leather harness.

They use their phone to snap a quick picture of it, which they send to another friend of theirs, who is at home. He's sitting on the couch with his bulldog, watching an old movie on TV. The message comes over to him with the picture and a caption, asking "R U coming out?"

The clever friend then snaps a picture of his pup, replying to his mates, "Nah, hanging with ya Mamma."

According to Jody Thomson, Consumer Marketing at Vodafone NZ, "The ad was not purposely intended to depict gay men, but to communicate that images are just as strong, if not stronger, than words. In the reasonably accepting, modern, youthful society we live in, images such as the manequin in bondage or the dog are taken to mean whatever the audience has a connection with. The key objective of the brief was to create an affinity with PXT as 'talking with pictures' in an everyday
environment.

"The results have been fantastic. PXT as a product (taking pictures &
sending them via a mobile phone) has grown in recognition, and people now undertand that you can use images to create a message, outside of just taking a photo of a 'special moment'. Our usage of the PXT product grew approximately eight-fold from the culmination of this advertising and the retail executions that accompanied it. "

She says the ad is targeted at a demographic that likes to "work and play hard with no commitments and money to burn, 20-to-35-year-olds, strong male skew, urban. They are highly mobile, embrace new technology, large social circles and have a high consumption of media. This audience incorporates many subsets within the community, not just the gay community."

Company

Vodafone Group

Brand

Vodafone

Industry

Telecommunications

Media Outlet

Television

Country

New Zealand

Region

Australia/New Zealand

Agency

Lowe Worldwide

AdRespect Themes

GLBT Inclusion

Leatherman

User Comments

Kevin Ballie

I may have just been seeing things, but the friend who was inside on the couch looked gay-vague (looked gay, but no one's sure). That may be another added bonus of this ad.

Dan L.

I think this has to be the most gay-friendly company ever!

Kevin Ballie

I may have just been seeing things, but the friend who was inside on the couch looked gay-vague (looked gay, but no one's sure). That may be another added bonus of this ad.

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