With a rich pedigree of innovation that brings the best value to its customers, du has once again demonstrated its forward-thinking approach to customer engagement with its new Mobile Number Portability campaign. Featuring a video starring du’s ambassador, UN ambassador at large and Emirati superstar Hussain Al Jassmi, and directed by Ahmed Nader Galal (‘Fasel wa Na’ood’ (2011), ‘Al Mabrouk’ (2009), amongst others), one of the region’s leading directors. The campaign shows the people of the UAE that du understands how important their number is to their identity – and that it doesn’t have to be lost just because they opt for a solution to better fit their life.

The advert project was supervised by Emirati Adel Al Raees, Director of Communications (Digital Marketing, Entertainment and e-Channels), du, and features the song ‘Rahalt’ from Al Jassmi’s upcoming album, and describes all the happy memories Al Jassmi has had with his numbers, and how he’s happy to take them with him wherever he goes.

"Your number becomes your identity," said Al Jassmi. "No matter who you are, your friends associate you with your number as much as they do your career or even your appearance. If you lose your number, you could be losing out on a lot of things in your life, which is why I’m so glad I can keep my number on the network of my choice. I believe in the value that du offers and in the value that the company upholds, which is why I fully support changing to du."

"As our brand ambassador and an icon of modern Emirati culture, Hussain Al Jassmi was the perfect fit for demonstrating how easy it is to keep the number you love while changing to the network that offers better value," said Al Raees. "It’s especially important to keep your number if you’re a well-known, established professional, no matter what field you’re in; your number is your connection to the world and it’s important that you can take it with you."

The advert, which was directed by Ahmed Nader Galal, the son of renowned director Nader Galal, was shot by Leo Burnett MENA in around 30 hours spread over 3 days, in various locations across the UAE. Once shooting was complete, the creative team had the tricky task of inserting the animated numbers – inspired by the hit movie ‘Despicable Me’ – that Al Jassmi interacts with. Green mock-ups, the same size and shape as the numbers, were used during filming, which were replaced by the final animation for a seamless, by an international animation production company in Poland.

du started raising awareness of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in November 2013, prior to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority’s official MNP launch in December 2013. With the launch of MNP in the UAE, mobile users have the option to choose the network of their choice without having to lose their existing number.