Vodafone puts parents on giant murals to get students to call home

Vodafone has launched a new campaign via Howatson+Company that places real parents on large-scale murals near Australian universities, drawing on research that found 92% of parents worry when they have not heard from their children.

Called Did you get my mural?, The campaign features three parents on out-of-home sites across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland as part of a push to promote Vodafone's student mobile plans.

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Research underpins campaign

Vodafone said almost one-third of parents worry when they do not receive a reply to a text message, while many spend between five minutes and more than an hour each day waiting to hear back from their children.

Bec Darley, Group Chief Marketing Officer at Vodafone, said the campaign was built around the importance of staying connected.

“We know how important it is to stay connected to our loved ones. This new campaign is designed to show kids just how much their parents want a simple text or call back. The good news is that our student plans offer unlimited calls and texts so kids can stop ghosting their parents and drop them a call or message.”

Campaign rolls out across OOH and content

The campaign is running across out-of-home and content channels targeting parents and students.

Richard Shaw, Deputy CCO at Howatson+Company, said the creative idea was based on a common experience for parents and young adults.

“As soon as you move out of home, you have less contact with your parents and often don’t reply to messages as much as you should. “Did you get my mural?” is a cheeky reminder to students (and other parents) about the fact you get unlimited calls and texts - so just use it”

The campaign supports Vodafone's student offer, which includes 200GB on its Small SIM Only plan for $35 a month for the first 12 months, along with unlimited standard national calls and texts.

Credits

Vodafone

Group Chief Marketing Officer, TPG Telecom: Bec Darley

Head of Brand and Marketing: Lisa Cronin

Marketing Lead Vodafone - Prepaid, Postpaid and Fixed: Aggie Padilla

Senior Marketing Manager: Rianne Schuwer

Howatson+Company

Chief Executive Officer + Founder: Chris Howatson

Chief Client Officer: Katherine Chen

Senior Business Director: Juliet Loneragan

Senior Business Manager: Beth Tootill

Executive Strategy Director: Katharina Vassar

Strategy Director: Jade Hickey

Deputy Chief Creative Officer: Richard Shaw

Art Director: Jake Rowland

Copywriter: Cindy Diep

Chief Design Officer: Ellena Mills-Stainer

Head of Design: Trent Michael

Designer: Harry Chambers

Studio Lead: Simon Merrifield

Head of Production: Holly Alexander

Producer: Charlotte Breene

Group PR and Influencer Director: Michael Rossiter

PR and Influencer Account Manager: Grace Powers

Media Partner: Apparition Media