When we have lost a loved one, we often save memories of the person, it can be anything from photographs to old letters and voice messages on an answering machine. These memories can provide comfort and experts say they can even have a positive impact on coping with grief. However, a digital memory runs the risk of being lost, and therefore the telecommunications company Telenor Sweden has made it possible to save voice messages forever with the free service Missed Calls NORD DDB has developed the service and created the campaign.
Missed Calls is a web app where Telenor customers register with their phone number. After two-step verification, users can download their voice messages as sound files to either mobile or desktop.
The idea for the service emerged when Josephine Wallin Ankarstrand, creative director at NORD DDB Stockholm, lost a voice message her stepdad left on her voicemail shortly before he passed away. She then suggested to Telenor that there should be a service which could save voicemails forever.
When Telenor and NORD DDB researched the subject further, more testified that they in various ways had tried to ensure their voicemails would not disappear. One person carried around an old phone to keep access to a voicemail from her mother. Another hadn’t updated her phone in five years in fear that a voicemail from her daughter would be lost, something that would feel like losing her all over again.
“It’s from my mum. She passed away almost 12 years ago. It’s a constant reminder that she is still there, even though she has passed away. And in times when I feel very far away from her, it helps me feel a little bit closer. Whenever I hear it, I get to hear her voice and that is a huge gift for me, said one person about a saved voicemail from his mother and which he has approved for Telenor to include in the campaign. His story is reflected in this film directed by Natanael Ericsson via production company New Land.
