By Conor Risch

Dutch agency KesselsKramer has worked with the Ben mobile phone brand since it was first introduced in Holland eight years ago—they even named the brand. The agency came up with “Ben,” because not only could it be used in a sentence (“ben” is Dutch for “am”), but it was also a proper name, which would allow them to give the brand some personality. “We thought it was nice because you could use that in the language of the ads as well as in the logo,” says Kessels. Their initial “Ik ben Ben” or “I am Ben” campaigns, which featured imagery of Dutch citizens of all ages and ethnicities, turned the company from a latecomer to the Dutch mobile phone market into the number two mobile company in Holland.

Kessels says that part of the brand’s success was the connection between its inclusive messaging and the increase in mobile phone users. “Eight years ago was a time when mobile phones got accessible for everybody,” says Kessels. “They were not only for people with suits.”
   
Four years later T-Mobile bought Ben. Kessels says that when the news of the T-Mobile purchase spread, there were blogs asking that the brand remain on the market. “It’s bizarre to see that from consumers,” Kessels recalls. “They were very connected to the brand and to the imagery.”

The Ben brand did disappear after the T-Mobile acquisition. The name was so strong, however, that T-Mobile decided to resurrect it for their new Sim-card-only business last February. KesselsKramer were again tapped to shepherd Ben’s communications, and they reenlisted photographer Tim Georgeson, who had previously worked on the brand. For the Sim-card only Ben, which carries no contractual obligation for consumers, they are focusing on authentic imagery that conveys a sense of freedom. “You are free to come and free to go,” says Kessels of the messaging. “The ads are very imagery based and they just say ‘Greetings from Ben.’ They’re almost like postcards that just give you a mood or emotion.”

The print ads also play off the idea of Ben as a proper name. “Ben is a person and should also act like a person,” says Kessels. “So one day you’re happy or angry or sad or in love. So apart from this feeling of freedom, [Georgeson] also captures different moods. Not every image has to be very happy. It’s more like reportage.”

Georgeson was selected for the work because of his journalism background. “I hardly work with purely advertising photographers anymore,” says Kessels. “I am trying to find photographers that make authentic-looking photographs, and when I use that in communication it makes the work very visible because it’s not something very common to use in advertising.”

Georgeson’s images are spontaneous rather than staged. He simply shoots images for the brand as he sees them (the recent ads are the result of a road trip from Montreal to New York with his wife and kids), so when KesselsKramer wants to create another series of ads, he has various photographs to submit.

“It’s such a rare open brief,” says Georgeson. “[All of the images are] raw and real, absolutely no post production work besides scanning and some basic adjustments. Everything is shot on film on small 35mm point and shoot and rangefinder cameras. Erik is a total rarity in the industry and has total respect and trust for the artist he chooses.” 
   
“If you say, ‘In three weeks’ time I need twenty images,’ [Tim] can do that,” says Kessels, “but I think it’s nicer when you have a continuous thing in your head.”