Take Time to Connect

Deutsche Telekom and INGO The Agency have created a timely and heartwarming new Christmas campaign, ‘Take Time to Connect', that centres on the difference between being together and feeling connected.

Especially at Christmas, our attention is in extraordinary demand. Every screen, every notification, every brand wants a moment of it. Which is why, in a world full of distractions, time and focus can be the most meaningful gift we give to our loved ones. 'Take Time to Connect' asks us to make more conscious choices by telling the story of a grandfather and granddaughter who take the time to connect at Christmas fully.

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 as they embark on a dreamlike adventure.

When the shared moment passes, we see that Lily has helped Grandpa reconnect with the people and the love that remain around him. The story finds its emotional meaning in that small but powerful shift: being present can’t take away loss, but connection can help us feel less alone in it.

The film’s soundtrack, Cyndi Lauper’s 80s classic, “Time After Time”, adds a sense of nostalgia and, with its theme of being there for someone, echoes the bond between Lily and Grandpa.

The film was devised and created by INGO in collaboration with director Léo Cannone from Feel Films. They partnered with generative AI studio New Forest to build a visual world, characters and campaign imagery made entirely using generative AI. New Forest’s Create platform is designed specifically for high-end film, TV and advertising productions, offering a shared, agent-augmented workflow all the way from script to final shot.

The film is part of a comprehensive 360° campaign which runs on TV, cinema, digital, digital OOH, and social channels from November 2nd, supported by local activation initiatives. It will be seen across ten European markets: Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Germany and Greece.

“Feeling connected to others is essential to a society in which people can understand and support one another. With ‘Take Time to Connect,’ we want to encourage everyone to slow down and be there for the people around them,” says Ulrich Klenke, Chief Brand Officer at Deutsche Telekom.

Elias Modig, Senior Copywriter, INGO "Connecting people is at the heart of Deutsche Telekom’s purpose, and this Christmas we’re celebrating the small acts that make a connection count: someone noticing. Someone reaching out. And how one connection can make a world of a difference. Our campaign is built on a simple human insight: when we slow down and give someone our attention, any moment can become magical.”

“Coming from a traditional filmmaking background, I like to think of AI as a camera directly connected to my imagination. Since AI was part of the brief from the beginning, we were able to really explore the creative possibilities, experimenting with images and showing how ideas could translate into a scene almost immediately. We created a film filled with magical and fantastical elements that would have been possible to bring to life with live action or traditional animation. Cinema has always been capable of creating extraordinary things. AI simply offers another way of bringing those ideas to life. With this film, I wanted to capture that feeling of wonder, and hopefully remind people to slow down, look around, and see a little more of the magic that’s already there.” – Léo Cannone, Director, Feel Films