TELECOM ARGENTINA | Yawn (Bostezos) | 2001
A Single Yawn, Passed From Face to Face, Became a Whole Commercial / TELECOM ARGENTINA "YAWN"
50 seconds of nothing but a yawn spreading from person to person, and it won Gold at Cannes. No explanation needed — the moment you see a yawn, you "get it." That's what makes it so powerful.
The problem
Back in 2001, the telecom company Telecom Argentina wanted its advertising to be about something bigger than features or prices — it wanted to be about the simple fact of people connecting with each other.
The insight
A yawn is something everyone experiences, and it spreads to other people without anyone meaning it to. It's one of the most basic forms of communication there is — it gets through with zero words involved. The idea for this ad was built around finding, in the yawn, an answer to the question: what does it really mean to communicate?
The idea
The camera moves from one stranger to the next as a yawn passes between them. That's the entire 50-second film — until the very end, when the line "Communicate. It's simple." appears. There's no explanation anywhere in it; you understand it just by watching.
What happened
The original title was "Bostezos." It won Gold in the Film category at the 2001 Cannes Lions, and also took the Grand Prix at Argentina's own creative awards. The director was Juan Vierzinski, who would later become known as a film director — this was reportedly his first commercial as director.
Afterthought
The reason this ad has lasted is probably that it was built on something that never goes out of style. A yawn spread the same way in 2001 as it does today, so the commercial still works exactly as it is if you watch it now. It's apparently had such a quiet, lasting effect that some people say it's the reason they went into advertising in the first place.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2001
