What it had to solve
Show that what matters about technology is not the device but what it lets us do — relive our best memories — through a father-son story with a soul.
How it works
In an AdForum interview, creatives Rémi Campet and Rayhaan Khodabux say they imagined the script under creative directors Marie-Eve Schoettl and David Soussan and CCO Stéphane Xiberras, and chose Henry director Martin Werner to craft it. Weeks went into 'The Great Quest for the Perfect Music' — wanted before the shoot to nail the choreography — until they landed on a Redbone track they knew from Guardians of the Galaxy's opening.
What it did
The interview reports no third-party results. The creatives say they 'all knew we had it right' once the Redbone track was found (self-reported in the interview).
Background
In an AdForum interview published 30 November 2018, BETC Paris creatives Rémi Campet and Rayhaan Khodabux walked through 'The Dad', the Christmas campaign they developed for Bouygues Telecom, one of the main phone companies in France. It tells the story of a loving dad with a funny, slightly weird habit: dancing in front of his son each time he hears his favourite song, whatever the place — which can get awkward.
The creatives recall the brief from creative directors Marie-Eve Schoettl and David Soussan and CCO Stéphane Xiberras: a big Christmas campaign strong enough to embody Bouygues Telecom's positioning of technology not as a purpose in itself but as a way to gather people even closer together. They wanted to show that even though we all crave the last hype tech device, what matters is what it lets us do — like living our best memories again — through a father-son relationship they describe as hero, then buddy, then sometimes embarrassment.
Behind the scenes, the pair describe 'The Great Quest for the Perfect Music': the track was a key component and they wanted it locked before the shoot to nail the choreography. After long weeks they thought of a great Redbone track — already used in the opening sequence of The Guardians of the Galaxy — and says they all knew they had it right. Director Martin Werner of Henry was chosen to craft the film.
Why it lands
The father-son relationship gives the film a universal emotional spine that evolves with age.
The music was treated as a script element, locked before the shoot to serve the choreography.
It keeps the brand's positioning — tech as a way to gather people — inside a family joke.
Interviewed creatives credit the Redbone track as the hinge of the film (self-reported).
What you can take
Holiday films earn their tears by mapping tech onto family roles — the dad is hero, then buddy, then embarrassment — while the device just holds the memory.
Since then
The interview ran 30 November 2018 as the campaign launched; asked what to expect from BETC in 2019, the creatives teased only 'great campaigns'.
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