Vodafone to bid fond farewell to animated boy-girl characters

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With the spotlight on Vodafone at the moment, the brand is playing its cards carefully in the Indian subcontinent. The brand started off with a simple introduction message: ‘Hutch is Now Vodafone’; knowing the repercussions of sudden shifts, it plans on continuing with this campaign for a while. The iconic pug has also been continued, and it is possible that the ‘Hutch boy’ could also be recalled, but not immediately.

The animated boy-girl duo (a Hutch hallmark), currently being used as mascots to ‘introduce’ Vodafone to consumers, will be dropped in subsequent campaigns. Rajiv Rao, executive creative director, O&M, says, “These two characters so essentially represent the old brand ‘Hutch’ that they will have to be dropped eventually.” They are likely to be replaced by a cooler, suave boy-girl couple (also animated) who will become the face of Vodafone in India.



Vodafone’s global corporate thought, ‘Make the Most of Now’, will be imported into India soon. O&M India will come up with a corporate campaign based on this thought. However, the idea used will be completely Indian, and not an adaptation of a foreign creative. Hutch’s tagline, ‘Wherever You Go, Our Network Follows’, will also be retained by Vodafone, but only for those commercials that are based around the network premise.

‘Make the Most of Now’ essentially encourages people to take time out of their busy lives and enjoy each moment of each day. This thought was arrived at after extensive research by Vodafone to gain in-depth understanding of customer perceptions and behaviour. The study – conducted in more than 13 countries – reveals that time is key to making the most of life.



Harit Nagpal, director, marketing and new services, Vodafone Essar, says, “Humans today are constantly multitasking and trying to be in 10 places at the same time.” So clearly, Vodafone’s take is that its technologically advanced products and services help people achieve this by breaking down geographical and time barriers. Essentially, the corporate campaign will revolve around the concept of managing one’s time better and, thereby, managing one’s life better.

Nagpal further adds that as humans, we all have said at some point, ‘I wish I had more time’, which will form the insight for Vodafone’s communication in India.


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