Serviceplan Bubble X o2

In Germany’s telecom market, the big three providers hardly differ – neither in products nor in performance. That makes a clear brand attitude essential for true differentiation.

At a time when a growing “can’t do” mentality casts a shadow over society, we set out to create the opposite: a large-scale brand campaign that expressed O₂’s core belief – can do.

Two words that open up a world of possibilities. At the heart of the campaign was a brand film, conceived and executed as a fully integrated piece. Almost every scene tells its own “can do” story, brought to life across a wide range of classic and digital media beyond the TV commercial.

Musicians RIN and Schmyt didn’t just appear together in the film – performing on two separate stages – they also headlined an exclusive “Can Do Concert” in Berlin, streamed live across O₂’s channels. Influencer Beyza Mokka’s inspiring life story, defined by perseverance, became an emotional online film to encourage others. Even the voiceover, embodying the optimistic “can do” spirit, was extended to the country’s largest out-of-home spaces.

What began as a classic brand film evolved into the most integrated campaign in O₂’s history.

can do is the attitude that makes O₂ a game changer in the industry – it is the brand’s DNA. To prove this, we asked five game changers about their DNA, extracted it, and immortalized it with printer’s ink in the O₂ brand book.

Across 388 pages, bestselling author Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre decodes the can do mentality of the protagonists. Each chapter is a can do story that reflects the brand’s attitude one-to-one.

The typography was individually designed for each chapter: text in justified alignment, black lacquer on black paper for the dark years of the brand. Headlines mimic the flight curve of the Fosbury Flop. A tribute to the first computer-readable font for Jimmy Wales in a coding look. A play on contrasts between the gray streets of the Bronx in the ’70s and handcrafted golden tags for Grandmaster Flash. Typography shimmering in the desert heat of Burning Man and Persian script that hints at the roots of Enissa Amani.

The choice of paper also reflects the content of the chapters: it has the texture of a tartan track where Dick Fosbury began his run-up to success; it lets us feel the sand omnipresent at Burning Man. In the chapter about Jimmy Wales, it recalls printer paper, and for Grandmaster Flash, the vinyl of a record. Numerous print refinements underline the individual character: black lacquer on black paper, light-sensitive colors that seem to melt in the heat of Burning Man or handcrafted golden tags on the gray of the Bronx in the ’70s.

With CAN DO DECODED, we have created a brand book that shows what it means to be a game changer.

5G is everywhere and already part of everyday life – yet the network itself remains invisible and hard to grasp. This is the challenge all telecom providers face: how do you make something visible that you can’t see or touch? In a time when simple promises and awards no longer convince, we needed a new, tangible approach. People believe most in what they can truly see.

Our idea: make the invisible visible – O₂’s 5G network. From big cities to rural areas, we measured the signal strength of O₂’s 5G network, translated the data into light signals, and “painted” them across the night sky using a ten-meter light bar attached to a heavy-lift drone. With cutting-edge technology and long-exposure photography, we created spectacular shapes in the sky – the dramatic second stage of O₂’s network offensive.

During a two-week tour across Germany, we produced eleven striking campaign visuals and an impressive TV spot. The entire process was captured in a documentary. The results appeared across multiple channels: cinema, TV, online, mega blow-ups, giant posters, digital out-of-home screens, and prime placements at train stations and airports – supported by a massive LED wall in Berlin. The outcome: a unique fusion of network data and art that made O₂’s excellent network truly tangible and set new standards for modern brand communication.

The German telecom market feels uniform – products and offers look alike, and for most people, they’re hard to grasp. That’s why a brand needs to stand out and move culture. Our mission was clear: give O₂ emotional power and a unique, relevant theme. “can do” is more than a claim – it’s the belief that with the right mindset, anything is possible.

To prove it, O₂ teamed up with big-wave surfer Sebastian Steudtner for a record-breaking challenge: ride an even bigger wave than his world record of 26.21 m – a limit many thought was impossible. We set out to prove the opposite.

Because you can’t plan the perfect wave, we went all-in on social media and real-time communication. For six months, we took the community along for the ride, sharing exclusive insights and building anticipation. The climax came on February 24, 2024, in Nazaré: under extreme conditions, Steudtner surfed live online before a global audience and smashed his own record with a wave of 28.57 m. A powerful demonstration of what the “can do” mindset can achieve.

This campaign didn’t just tell “can do” – it made people experience it, far beyond traditional advertising. Through our social strategy, users became active participants: cheering, interacting with Sebastian, and shaping the story. The result: cultural relevance meets innovative storytelling, creating images that went global – even making front-page news worldwide. We anchored O₂ to this historic moment in surf history.

Serviceplan Bubble and O₂ once again revolutionized the German telecom market with the launch of O₂ Grow – the first tariff where data volume grows every year. Automatically. At no extra cost. A product that not only meets the evolving needs of customers but also embodies our brand promise: can do – the belief that we can achieve anything if we grow beyond ourselves and overcome what holds us back. But how do you communicate that authentically and inspiringly on social media?

Our answer: O₂ Elevator – a music format created for social media in collaboration with artists who embody the can do mindset and the spirit of O₂ Grow. Four artists who have repeatedly grown beyond themselves throughout their careers: U.S. superstar Macklemore, Nina Chuba, Pajel, and Alicia Awa. In four episodes released over four months, each artist performed the song that marked their biggest growth – on a stage symbolizing that journey: the elevator in Munich’s O₂ Tower. Three square meters, reinvented for every performance. Up to five different stage designs per song visually and symbolically illustrated the artists’ path to the top. Once there, they shared their personal growth stories in exclusive interviews.

The campaign became O₂’s most successful social media initiative ever, combining inspiring stories, outstanding live performances, and innovative music video premieres into a unique platform for personal and artistic growth.

Above all, Elevator brought the can do spirit to life once again – inspiring fans and viewers to grow beyond themselves.