O2’s Christmas ad by VCCP offers a solution to data poverty [Video]

Every year, there are a bunch of Christmas ads that highlight a brand’s work for charity and pull on your heartstrings via characters who aren’t in a position to fully enjoy the festival season. Typically, that’s because they either can’t afford presents or are socially excluded from the party.

Increasingly, though, social exclusion is happening more subtly for people who can’t afford data on their phones. Even those of us with a healthy income will know how it feels to have no access to the mobile internet because you’ve hit a signal blackspot or your network is down. So it’s not difficult to imagine how that would feel 24/7.

Some might say, to paraphrase Marie Antoinette, “Then let them eat Wi-Fi!” But it’s not as simple as that. Not everyone has Wi-Fi at home, and while it’s often available at pubs and cafes, it’s not always very reliable; plus, of course, there’s a cost involved there, too.

So, it’s …