Real life does beat advertising, and this campaign-turned-national-phenomenon is the living proof. It’s the real story of Ghita, a common Romanian shepherd from Jina, Sibiu. He started off as a completely anonymous and lonely guy on his mountain top. But after a few months of making the most out of Vodafone’s mobile data network, his life dramatically changed for the better. He gained half a million engaged Facebook friends. He was dedicated a pop album and video. He was invited to open a cheese shop in the capital. And he even received a visit from the Prime Minister at Christmas. He became an icon of digitalization and set an inspiring example for all Romanians, demonstrating that Vodafone’s brand promise of “better lives through technology” is as real as it can get.

With Ghita, Vodafone managed to change the conversation in a category dominated by rational claims and “who shouts louder”. Vodafone regained absolute leadership in “best network” perception, convinced an entire country that mobile internet and smartphones are accessible for everyone, and ended the year selling more smartphones than feature phones for the first time ever