Biscuit specialist Arnott’s has released a heartwarming film via Publicis Groupe’s bespoke team, The Neighbourhood, reminding Australians that ‘there is no substitute’ for sharing moments of real connection.

Building on Arnott’s instilled belief of bringing people together, the campaign is backed by research which uncovered that half of Aussies believe the use of mobile devices and social media is preventing them from having more face-to-face interactions, yet only a quarter admitted to sending a meaningful or heartfelt text to someone they care about only a few times a year.

In the two-minute film, which is being released today on Arnott’s Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels, everyday Australians were asked to read their text message conversations to each other, face-to-face, as part of a social experiment investigating the way our communications change from devices to in-person.

The heartwarming results of these funny, sometimes awkward and even emotional exchanges uncovered that often those interactions exchanged via mobile devices aren’t as meaningful as they could have been in person.

Michelle Foley, Arnott’s core products marketing director for Australia and New Zealand, said: “Arnott’s has always believed in bringing people together and the real connections that occur when we do.

“As a society, we’re connecting less than ever before, and we wanted to encourage Aussies young and old to rediscover the joy of sharing a meaningful moment with someone special to them.

“It’s important to make time to sit, talk, and really connect and we wanted to remind people of that.”

Rebecca Carrasco, deputy executive creative director at The Neighbourhood, said: “It’s exciting when an iconic brand commits to a point of view that has social value beyond advertising.

“This is just the first wave in a suite of work for Arnott’s which will continue to build that point of view for the brand in a variety of different ways.”

CREDITS

Client: Campbell Arnott’s

Chief marketing officer: David McNeil

Marketing director: Michelle Foley

Marketing manager: Lucy Frizell

Brand manager: Elly Jean-Louis

Integrated communications manager: Linda Abbott

Senior communications manager: Amy Wagner

Agency: Publicis Groupe under The Neighbourhood

Chief strategy integration officer: Kate Smither

Deputy executive creative director: Rebecca Carrasco

Creative directors: Flavio Fonseca and Piero Ruzzene

Creative: Michael Barnfield

Chief client officer: Helge Gruettke

Senior business director: Laura Hawdon

Media account director: Catherine LimSam

Media account manager: Adrienne Grealish

Integrated producer: Kirsty Chase

Senior producer: Amanda Cairns-Cowan

PR: Herd MSL

Production company: Revolver/Will O’Rourke

Executive producers: Michael Ritchie and Pip Smart

Producer: Nicole Crozier

Director: The Glue Society

Editor: The Glue Society