Vodafone aims to help cricket fans secretly watch sport all summer

The campaign, developed by Ogilvy Sydney, involves the launch of a range of limited edition books designed to hide a smartphone. The aim is to allow fans to watch the Vodafone Test Series through an app, while appearing to be reading an intellectual title.

The campaign was developed following research by Vodafone that showed that “life” got in the way of many fans watching cricket.

The survey showed fans are most likely to check-in on sport via a mobile app when they are out to dinner with friends (33 per cent), in the bathroom (25 per cent), at a wedding (9 per cent), out on a date (7 per cent) or in a business meeting (7 per cent).

A 15-second TVC will also run that uses cricketers like Michael Clarke to promote a different book title, including Turning your Pool into a Yabbie Farm, Whipper Snipper Maintenance and Cost Accounting for Management Success.

Viewers are directed to the vBook website and a video from Clarke who explains what the books are actually used for – watching five days of uninterrupted test cricket. Viewers can then order their free book from the site.

“There is no place any sports-loving Aussie would rather be than at the ground or in front of the TV, but we all know that we have responsibilities that get in the way of watching,” said Stephen Saunders, head of sponsorship at Vodafone. “Now, thanks to Vodafone’s limited edition vBook and the Cricket Live Australia App, it’s all possible.”

Brett Howlett, Ogilvy ECD added, “The Live Cricket app solved one problem, ‘How to watch a lot of cricket’, but created another, ‘How to get away with watching a lot of cricket’. Creating this book was a cheeky way to make sure people downloaded the app”.