Sunrise Reminds Switzerland to Look Up From the Screen
Sunrise launched "Life is full of surprises" in Switzerland in February 2024, a Content and Film campaign created by thjnk Zürich that places a young woman in a lift with two of the country's most celebrated sports icons — tennis legend Roger Federer and alpine skiing champion Marco Odermatt — while she scrolls through cat videos, entirely unaware of who is standing beside her, according to Comcom Admin Ch.
The campaign carries a proposition that cuts against the grain of conventional telecom advertising. Rather than celebrating the power of the device, Sunrise argues through this spot that technology should enhance life rather than eclipse it, according to Ipsos. The creative premise is economical and resonant: the greatest missed opportunity is the one happening right in front of you, according to Libertyglobal. André Krause, CEO of Sunrise, articulated the intent plainly: "We want to show in a charming way that life can be full of surprises," noting that while mobile phones are essential to everyday life in Switzerland, the risk of missing the world around us is real. The campaign was submitted to industry archives by Senior Art Director Luca Stancheris of thjnk Zürich and comprises a single media asset — a 30-second film. Clapboard rates the campaign 63 out of 100, reflecting a well-executed concept with genuine cultural warmth and a slight constraint in structural ambition.
Sunrise operates in one of Europe's most competitive and consolidated mobile markets. According to Switzerland's Federal Communications Commission, ComCom, Swisscom held approximately 54% of Switzerland's mobile market at the end of 2024, while Sunrise held approximately 26.5% and Salt held approximately 18%. Against Swisscom's dominant scale and Salt's aggressive pricing position, Sunrise cannot compete on reach alone. The brand's strategic response has consistently been to build emotional equity, and "Life is full of surprises" advances that agenda with deliberate cultural specificity.
The insight driving the campaign is not unique to Switzerland, but its execution is calibrated for a Swiss audience, according to Eqs-News. Screen fatigue and the broader cultural conversation about smartphone dependency have gained sustained attention across European markets, and a telecom brand entering that conversation carries inherent risk. The creative team at thjnk Zürich resolved that tension by framing Sunrise not as the enemy of connection but as its enabler — the network that makes real-world moments possible, according to Sunrise Ch. By grounding the film in a recognisably ordinary Swiss setting and populating it with figures of national significance, the campaign avoids abstraction entirely. Roger Federer has served as a Sunrise brand ambassador since 2014, according to Sunrise's own corporate history, lending the brand a continuity of association with Swiss excellence that Salt and Swisscom have not replicated in the same sustained way. Lürzer's Archive described the film as a "nice twist on telecom advertising" in its July 2024 entry, a characterisation that speaks directly to this strategic positioning.
Martin Werner directed "Life is full of surprises" for production, bringing what More About Advertising, in its February 23, 2024 review, described as a "light touch" to material that could easily have become heavy-handed. The film's success depends almost entirely on restraint: the comedy must not tip into condescension, and the two sports ambassadors must read as genuinely present rather than performative. Werner achieves both. The lift setting is tight, the performances are understated, and the dramatic irony lands without editorialising.
Creative leadership at thjnk Zürich was provided by agency CEO and creative lead Alexander Jaggy alongside Executive Creative Director Pablo Schencke. The art direction was handled by Luca Stancheris, with copywriting by Maira Weidmann. Graphic design credits go to Josephine Jeanguenin and Moritz Houmard, strategy to Gordon Nemitz, and account consulting to Andrea Bison, Claudia Ziltener, Michaela Bossard, and Cornelia Nünlist. Agency production was managed by Benjamin Calcott and Thomas Nabbefeld. The campaign format — a single 30-second film — places all of its creative weight on one precise moment of dramatic irony, a structural choice that demands economy of storytelling. More About Advertising noted on publication that the spot was "not your typical telecom ad," and the craftsmanship of the production supports that judgement. The casting of Federer and Odermatt as two men whose global and national fame go entirely unregistered by one distracted viewer is the conceptual engine of the film, and the production executes that engine without excess.
No independently verified performance data for "Life is full of surprises" — such as reach figures, brand lift measurements, or conversion metrics — is publicly available from a named third-party source. Sunrise referenced the campaign in its Q3 2024 corporate update as a "highly acclaimed new advertising campaign," according to Sunrise's own published materials, which signals internal confidence in the work's reception without providing quantified outcomes. The campaign accumulated over 24,000 views and 124 likes on the archive platform where it was submitted, according to Clapboard's own editorial records.
Structurally, the campaign's effectiveness is anchored in three compounding assets: the sustained brand ambassador relationship with Roger Federer, which Sunrise has maintained since 2014 according to its corporate history; the inclusion of Marco Odermatt, whose alpine skiing prominence gives the film immediate relevance to a domestic Swiss audience; and the simplicity of a single film executing a single, well-observed idea. According to ComCom, Sunrise's mobile customer base grew 3.7% in 2024 — a commercial result that coincided with a period of brand activity of which this campaign formed a visible part. The Clapboard Score of 63 out of 100 reflects a campaign that delivers its creative proposition with confidence and cultural intelligence, while its single-asset format and contained narrative scope limit the overall score relative to campaigns that demonstrate broader systemic ambition.
"Life is full of surprises" is a 2024 Sunrise campaign set in a lift, where a young woman scrolls through cat videos while Roger Federer and Marco Odermatt stand beside her unnoticed. Created by thjnk Zürich, the 30-second film argues that smartphone distraction causes people to miss real-life moments of genuine significance.
thjnk Zürich created the campaign for Sunrise, with creative leadership from Alexander Jaggy and Executive Creative Director Pablo Schencke. Art direction was by Luca Stancheris, copywriting by Maira Weidmann, and direction by Martin Werner. The campaign launched in Switzerland in February 2024 as a single 30-second film.
Both Federer and Odermatt serve as official Sunrise brand ambassadors. Federer has held that role since 2014, according to Sunrise's corporate history, giving the brand a long-established association with Swiss sporting excellence. Odermatt's alpine skiing prominence adds immediate domestic relevance, making the pair's unnoticed presence in the lift the film's central dramatic irony.
Sunrise held approximately 26.5% of Switzerland's mobile market at the end of 2024, according to ComCom. Swisscom led with approximately 54% and Salt held approximately 18%. Sunrise's mobile customer base grew 3.7% during 2024, per ComCom, in a market where emotional brand differentiation carries strategic weight against larger competitors.
Clapboard rates "Life is full of surprises" 63 out of 100. The score reflects a well-observed creative concept executed with restraint and cultural specificity for the Swiss market. The campaign's single-asset format and contained narrative scope limit its overall rating relative to campaigns demonstrating broader structural or multi-channel ambition, per Clapboard's editorial assessment.
More About Advertising described the spot as "not your typical telecom ad" and praised director Martin Werner's "light touch" in its February 23, 2024 review. Lürzer's Archive called the film a "nice twist on telecom advertising" in a July 2024 entry. Sunrise itself referenced the work as a "highly acclaimed new advertising campaign" in its Q3 2024 corporate update.
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