Christmas is a time for connection, particularly in Ireland. It’s the hardest time of year to be away from home.

Since Three believe life is better connected, the brand decided to demonstrate that for Christmas 2019, by connecting a group of Irish people who are the most disconnected of all. Irish immigrants living undocumented in the United States. A community of Irish people who can never come home.

The Connected Restaurant is a pop-up restaurant split between New York and Dublin, designed to bring two sides of the Atlantic around one table, using technology. A new dining concept used to connect Irish immigrants with their loved ones in Ireland, and leveraged to reunite one Irish community who physically can’t come home for Christmas- the Undocumented Irish - with their families.

Connection. It’s a fundamental human need. After all, we are social animals. So when we were challenged to prove the benefits of Three Mobile’s network, what better way of showing the power of connection than with a real world demonstration of what happens when you give it back to people who have been starved of it?

Strategy’s invitation to creative was to find a unique way of showing people how life is better when we’re connected. However, the proposition to “reconnect with those you love this Christmas” became a tale of two campaigns.

One that drove emotion at scale, and another that was hidden in plain sight. A brand experience for undocumented Irish immigrants. Staying under the radar from ICE, they shared the joy of Christmas with their family back home.

The Connected Restaurant was a pop-up restaurant, split between two restaurants, in two locations - Dublin and New York. Custom tables were designed in a semi-circular shape to give the illusion of one whole table when connected using specially-made screens and best in class camera technology. Twinned production design helped to create the illusion that two spaces were actually one. Waiters were even choreographed to serve the dishes at exactly the same time, in two different time zones. World-renowned Irish-American chef, Flynn McGarry, created a menu inspired by Ireland to give Irish immigrant diners a taste of home. The same food was served on both sides of the Atlantic to make the experience as shared as possible.

The Connected Restaurant made an immediate splash in Ireland and around the world. It was reported on by all major national media outlets, as well as by press around the world, including The Sunday Times, Fox News and NBC.

People saw and loved the idea of connecting families at Christmas.The video was viewed over 4 million times (97% of the population of Ireland), view through rates were up by 34% on last year’s Christmas campaign, brand health went up 2 points at a historically difficult time of year, and despite being outspent and outshouted by our competitors by 3:1 The Connected Restaurant was the top performing Christmas campaign in Ireland.