What it had to solve
Follow the viral Christmas dad-dancing film and dramatise what Bouygues' rural network investment actually bought: connection between generations.
The idea
A loving grandmother lets her city granddaughter believe the countryside has no signal — the only way to keep her visiting is to be unreachable.
How it works
Film directed by Emma Luchini (Stink Films) and set to Elvis Costello's cover of Charles Aznavour's 'She', known from Notting Hill; the grandmother schemes, the teenage granddaughter lingers, and the rural-coverage message lands without a claim in sight.
What it did
No view or sales figures for this film in the source. The bar it followed: the previous Christmas film drew over 150 million organic views and its soundtrack became France's most Shazamed song.
Background
Bouygues Telecom had spent three years heavily investing in rural coverage and connects 64 million French people; the brand had just been recognised as the #1 mobile operator in French rural zones. As the film jokes, not everyone is aware of that yet — the countryside is still associated with terrible 4G and waffly sound. BETC's new spot plays the stereotype for warmth instead of arguing with it.
In 'Mamita', a scheming but loving grandmother sneakily plays on her teenage granddaughter's ignorance of that improvement, letting her believe there is no signal in the countryside so the girl stays and spends precious quality time with her. The humour is the same family-values territory as the previous Christmas film, in which an awkward dad danced to Redbone's 'Come and Get Your Love' — a spot that collected over 150 million organic views and made the soundtrack the most Shazamed song in France over the Christmas period.
Emma Luchini directed for Stink Films, with Elvis Costello's take on Aznavour's 'She' — the song from the Notting Hill soundtrack — carrying the two generations' scenes.
Why it lands
Three years of rural network investment needed a story people would actually watch.
The countryside's reputation for bad coverage is the one thing everyone believes — inverting it makes the improvement memorable.
Bouygues' advertising DNA is family warmth and awkward humour, proven by the Christmas film's 150 million organic views.
A cross-generation cast and a familiar love song speak to both the grandmother and the granddaughter in the audience.
What you can take
Humour that admits the category's old weakness — rural coverage was famously terrible — lets the strength claim arrive as a plot point instead of a boast.
Since then
The source, published at the film's launch on 20 March 2019, records no performance numbers for 'Mamita' itself; its success yardstick remains the preceding Christmas film's 150 million organic views.
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