The popular 'Be more dog' campaign, which features the ever loveable 'O2 Cat' has recently been given extra legs with a new £7 million campaign, which aims to support the telecommunications company's revamped 'Priority' app. The campaign, which has been created by VCCP, reunites viewers with the cat who thinks and acts like a dog, as he tours the motivational speaker circuit, lecturing people about how they can “Live the good life” and “be more dog” by making the most of the offers O2 gives its customers through the priority service. Besides the ad, other elements of the campaign include geo-located mobile ads, complete Homepage takeovers and outdoor promotions, including a complete takeover of the media space at Euston Station in London.
The campaign, which has been created by VCCP, reunites viewers with the cat who thinks and acts like a dog
O2's marketing and consumer director Nina Bibby, says the O2 Priority service was created to help their customers “live the good life with O2, thanks to the hundreds of offers, discounts and deals available to choose from.” She believes that the new campaign reinforces that message “In a playful way, encouraging people to explore some fantastic experiences via the revamped app. The campaign was directed by Ulf Johansson and written by Courtney Dow, whilst Juliet McLaren handled the art direction. Media planning and buying was handled by ZenithOptimedia. It first aired over the weekend, with high-profile spots during the FA Cup Final and the recently revived American action series 24. The ad will also be shown in cinemas across the country.
Ben Daly (left) and Nathaniel White (right)
The reemergence of the O2 cat campaign arrives (somewhat ironically) just as 2 of the creatives who helped create it leave VCCP. Ben Daly and Nathaniel White, the team who were initially behind the campaign at VCCP (having joined them 8 years ago) have left the agency to join the creative team at Dare. Sean Thompson, Dare's chief creative officer, says that it's been “Quite a coup to hire the team who created the campaign of the year,” referring to the 'Campaign of the Year' award Campaign magazine awarded O2 for Daly and White's feline centric campaign. On the move, Daly added that he feels they are moving to “The right place at the right time,” and feel they have a chance at Dare to “Make some really great work.”
The reemergence of the O2 cat campaign arrives (somewhat ironically) just as 2 of the creatives who helped create it leave VCCP
Dare have been an agency on the rise since Thompson joined them from Arnold Worldwide in Amsterdam last year. Other recent recruits he's managed to coax away from their respective shops include Pete Conolly (formerly of Goodby Silverstein) as a creative partner, and Rachel Hatton (former group planning director at the Ogilvy Group) as a strategy partner.
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from the UK who really would rather like an O2 cat of his own. Just don't tell him it's CGI!
