A Deutsche Telekom Christmas advert about truly connecting at Christmas has joined this year’s festive conversation, with a grandfather-and-granddaughter story that asks viewers to slow down and be present. The campaign, called “Take Time to Connect”, was created by INGO The Agency and began running on 2 November across ten European markets.
According to Campaign Brief Asia, the film captures a busy family Christmas where a young girl notices what everyone else has missed: her grandfather is there, but his thoughts are elsewhere as he remembers his late wife and the Christmases they shared. Granddaughter Lily understands that he is lost in his own thoughts and reaches out to him, making a small gesture that draws them both into a world of their own on a dreamlike adventure.
Being together versus feeling connected
The campaign’s central distinction is between being together and feeling connected. The film argues that presence is a choice: a family can share a room at Christmas and still miss each other entirely. Lily’s small gesture — noticing, reaching out, staying — is presented as the real gift of the season.
The soundtrack is Cyndi Lauper’s 1980s classic “Time After Time”, chosen for its theme of being there for someone and for the nostalgia it carries. The film was devised by INGO with director Leo Cannone from Feel Films, in partnership with generative AI studio New Forest, which built the visual world, characters and campaign imagery using generative AI.
A campaign across ten markets
The film is part of a 360-degree campaign running across television, cinema, digital, digital out-of-home and social channels, supported by local activation initiatives, in Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Germany and Greece.
Deutsche Telekom said the campaign wants to encourage people to slow down and be there for the people around them, adding that feeling connected to others is essential to a society in which people can understand and support one another. As Christmas advertising goes, the message is a quiet one — but in a season of noise, quiet may be exactly why it is being shared.
