Power to the people with Cell C

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"Power still remains a critical issue in South Africa," comments Simon Camerer, executive head of marketing at Cell C. "We have established that if one million people unplug their cellphone chargers for a single hour a day, we can save 1.7 MW, which amounts to R775.20. Five average-size households can be powered for a month by 1.7 MW.

"Now if we can do that with one million people unplugging their chargers for a single hour, imagine what would happen if all Cell C's five million subscribers unplug for twelve hours day and 30 days a month! That comes to 9 000 houses a month! That is a remarkable achievement! Eskom probably wouldn't need to do any load-shedding at all!"

“Giving people a practical way”

Chief creative officer of Net#work BBDO Mike Schalit agrees, "This Cell C ad takes advertising to a new level by giving people a practical way to do something real and make a difference in South Africa at a time when this is extremely relevant and needful. We felt proud to be able to create a way of utilising Cell C's mobilised network of five million customers to add value to our society."

Cell C subscribers and staff, themselves the "actors" in the ads, were delighted to be part of this effort to encourage power savings.

And it's not just the power of unity that Cell C is promoting, but the creative force that goes into its ads as well. As Hilton Treves of Black Ginger, which designed the technology behind the advertisements, explains, "We had to develop very specialised software to handle the vast amount of data involved. Hundreds of thousands of video clips were taken of Cell C subscribers around the country, turning differently coloured pages to produce a rainbow effect. We created software which searched through this massive library database, analysing and assessing the different colours and people who each became a part of the overall picture. Without this amazing graphic technology, which was developed by an ingenious programme developer from Loki Productions in Canada, we would never have been able to produce the advertisement as it stands."

Visual effects produced by mass events

The concept was based on the visual effects produced by mass events such as those frequently seen in Far Eastern countries, where thousands of people are choreographed into colourful and changing patterns through dance movements and flags or coloured boards.

"The advertising campaign sets new benchmarks for both the telecommunications and advertising industries," Camerer believes. "Thinking out of the box to provide solutions is a characteristic of Cell C and its partners, and we hope that more organisations will think along the lines of involving their customers in initiatives that can change our nation."

The campaign also fits in with Cell C's recent philosophy of being not just a mobile network, but a mobilised network.