The joint initiative betweenMEO and Fundação MEO has the collaboration ofMirabilis andcontinues the positioning launched in September -"Connect better with moderation"- reigniting the debate on the impact of technology on families' daily lives. This time, MEO's campaign draws attention to the problem of technoference - the interference of technology in human relationships. Under the slogan "Connect better to life," the new campaign focuses on the idea that the most important connections are those built in person, eye to eye, and through authentic sharing, rather than through a cell phone.
“This Christmas, we would like to challenge everyone to feel the true emotion of being present, of looking others in the eye, and of living in the moment. With this campaign, MEO and the Fundação MEO everyone to connect with what really matters: the people and moments that remain in our memories and not in our cell phones. It is a commitment that we reinforce because we believe that technology should bring people closer together and never drive them apart." - Luiza Galindo, Brand and Communications Director, MEO
Theinstitutional filmfollows the happy relationship between a father and daughter, from the day she is born. Although delighted and radiant at every moment, the father's cell phone appears as a constant intermediary, always ready to capture and immortalize memories, but removing him from truly being present in the moment.
On the one hand, technological advances allow us to store unique memories and return to them and the emotions they evoke later on. On the other hand, MEO's campaign highlights the risk that people are often physically present but live everything in a kind of background, filtering reality through a phone screen. The human presence exists, but between it and the moment, there is always a device. In the film, this risk is revealed to the father when, in the hospital, preparing for the birth of his second child, he finds a drawing of the family made by his daughter in his pocket. In the picture of him, where the eyes should be, the girl has drawn the three lenses of a cell phone camera. Confronted with this representation, the father puts down his phone and the drawing, allowing the newborn to see his smile, not a screen.
With the slogan "Connect better to life. Merry Christmas. MEO. Humanize yourself," the multimedia campaign will be broadcast on television, radio, outdoor advertising, in the press, on digital media, and at MEO points of sale. Throughout the Christmas period, other content will be released on digital media, exploring the next phase, in which father and daughter spend time together, whether baking a cake, dancing, or playing ball, without the interference of cell phones. In this new phase, the father's "cell phone face" becomes a "human face."
Why talk about technoference at Christmas?
In an increasingly connected world, several studies reveal that excessive use of mobile devices interferes with family and social relationships:
10 hours/day – average time spent online by Portuguese people (1)
62% of children say that their parents don't listen because they are distracted (ages 6-12) (2)
68% of parents are distracted by their smartphones while spending time with their children (3)
MEO believes that Christmas is the perfect opportunity to disconnect in order to connect – to swap digital distractions for more present, more human connections. The multimedia campaign ‘Connect better to life’ will be broadcast on television, radio, outdoors, in the press, in cinemas, on digital media, and at MEO points of sale. In addition, there will be exclusive content on the MEO website on the theme of technoference, including initiatives such as: an interactive quiz for everyone to discover their screen score this festive season and a Christmas calendar with daily tips to inspire moments to better connect families to life.
₁Study from Highlights magazine (October 14, 2014), in “Anxious Generation,” Jonathan Haidt.
₂Pew Research Center (2020), in “The Anxious Generation,” Jonathan Haidt
₃Statista (2023), “Weekly notifications from social apps to U.S. Gen Z mobile users 2023,” in “The Anxious Generation,” Jonathan Haidt
Technical sheet
MEO
Luiza Galindo - Brand and Communications Director, MEO
Creative Agency: Dentsu Creative
CCO - Lourenço Thomaz Managing Director - Patrick Stiwell Executive Creative Director - Ivo Purvis Creative Director - Diogo Stiwell Art Director - Pedro Martoli Copywriter - João Moura Production - Martim Lemos Executive Account Director - Carla Vidal Marques Account Director - Rita Morgado Illustrator: André Kano Production Company: Garage Films Director: João Nuno Pinto Director of Photography - Mateusz Dziekonski Executive Producer: Miguel Varela Executive Production Assistant: Duarte Ribeiro Producer: Claúdia Costa Dir. Production: Matilde Silveira Post-production Coordinator - Beatriz Pereira Post-production - Tribo Som - Salva Estúdios Music - Carolina Deslandes Music Arrangement - Fred Ferreira Choir - Coro Cantat
Media Agency: OMD
Account Director - Paula Cruz