This month we celebrate 10 years of Millidge and Doig, the beloved characters created for Orange PrePay in Romania.

Developed alongside Nexus Productions, Millidge and Doig were named after their original animators, Reece Millidge and Stuart Doig. Early designs of the loveable duo were based on misshapen potatoes with a bean bag-like consistency, eventually leading to the now-familiar characters. Sharing one mouth between them, they worked together to communicate, the mouth bouncing off one and onto the other.

Millidge and Doig weren’t about technology, and they didn’t harp on about price. They represented what mattered beyond these things: the friendship and human interaction our mobiles are the gateway to. They stood for the means to talk with, text, email, share news and update others. Together, they illustrated how Orange’s service is ultimately about something bigger: coming together.

In a category which focuses almost solely on deals and prices, this celebration of friendship has continued to engage the hearts of Romanian people — so much so that Romania campaigned for M&D to be brought out of a (short-lived) retirement back in 2012.

Over the years our work has grown from traditional TV and key visuals to multi-channel digital campaigns. “Dance with Millidge and Doig” was a runaway success, becoming the most viewed ad on YouTube Romania in 2014. That’s in addition to our 2015 piano game being played over 900,000 times.

Our ten year anniversary campaign celebrates Millidge and Doig’s lasting friendship and is based on a birthday party. The TVC is accompanied by an online game and competitions rolling out across the month, aiming to get Romanians to join the celebration, too.

By embracing our memorable characters and shifting our focus to the essence of how pre-paid deals benefit people, we’ve found a creative anchor that helps us stand firm in an ever-evolving communications landscape. It’s part of what’s kept the Orange brand number one in Romania.

Orange had this to say about Millidge and Doig on their 10 year anniversary: “Our conclusion is that the popularity of [Millidge and Doig] is increasing with every ad, and we are raising the bar higher and higher with every film. Congratulations to the entire team, and keep up the great work you are doing!”

A special thanks as well to our production partner, Nexus, and sound partner, Brains and Hunch.