Vodafone Ireland and Folk Wunderman Thompson Launch First Fully Connected Smartwatch Service in Ireland

Vodafone has become the first operator in Ireland to offer smartwatch cellular connectivity through a new add on service called OneNumber. The service simply lets you share your mobile plan with a Samsung smartwatch while you’re out and about. So even if you leave your phone at home, you’ll always be connected.  

To launch the service, Vodafone and Folk Wunderman Thompson have created a TTL campaign that shows us that life with OneNumber is seamless, even if you leave your phone at home. The TV puts viewers in the shoes of an Irish rugby player using the service for a day with some familiar faces from the Irish squad. OOH explores the many ways this new product can come to life. And to demonstrate the power of OneNumber, the radio execution was recorded entirely from a smartwatch phone call. The campaign also runs across social, digital, VOD, YouTube and digital OOH.   

Jonathon Cullen, creative director, Folk Wunderman Thompson, said, “Vodafone’s OneNumber is a pretty amazing product as it allows you to stay connected without having to use your phone. That got us thinking about how can we showcase this in an exciting way to grip the viewer’s attention from the get-go. We had the benefit of being able to use some of our friends in the Irish rugby team to help tell the story of how a rugby player could stay connected as he went about his day, solely through the use of his smartwatch. The ad was shot from the perspective of one of our rugby players which allowed us to keep the players identity a secret right up to the last scene.” 

Orla Nagle, head of consumer brand, Vodafone Ireland, said, “OneNumber is an exciting innovation, and we are delighted to be the first operator to launch this cellular smartwatch connectivity for our customers. Through this campaign we wanted to show how you can seamlessly go about your day, without a phone, whilst staying connected with OneNumber. We also wanted to bring some humour into the campaign while highlighting the products’ features and benefits for customers. We are delighted to work with our partners at Irish Rugby and the players to help bring this to life in a fun and engaging way – all while keeping the audience guessing. Customers can purchase OneNumber by going into store, visiting our website or through the MyVodafone App”.