Soft-hearted

Sweet telecom spot fooled a businessman father

The spot reads like a big, and well thought-out production, yet its success hinged on a risky move. The actor's response to the child seems truly genuine--because it was.

The world is a smaller place, and business trips and their attendant responsibiliites are a little less lonely in a new spot for Dutch telecom provider KPN.

In a new spot for the brand, a businessman lectures on sustainability before an audience in Mumbai, but in the middle of his presentation, he accidentally answers a FaceTime call from his young daughter, looking a bit disconcerted as she "crashes" his speech, but welling up with loving emotion.

The spot reads like a big, and well thought-out production, yet its success hinged on a risky move. The actor's response to the child seems truly genuine--because it was.

The "actor" really is a businessman, Yoeri van Alteren, speaking to his real daughter back in The Netherlands. He knew he was taking part in a staged event for a commercial but thought the call would be staged too, and he expected the conversation with his little one would be added in post after it was recorded elsewhere.

But the creative team at agency N=5 and production company Bonkers United connected the call in real-time. When van Alteren's daughter started talking about how he'd be home in "two more nights," he realized they were chatting in real-time and nearly teared up, a reaction that affected the audience, too

See the video, here.