In a first for South Africa, cellular network Vodacom is launching SoLikeLife, the first ad-sponsored soapie produced specifically for cellphones and available exclusively to Vodacom’s Vodafone live! customers – free of charge. SoLikeLife was produced for mobile by Ochre Moving Pictures and sponsored by Nokia.

From 23 June 2008 over 1.7 million current Vodafone live! customers will be able to view this unique soapie.

“It is incredibly exciting for us to be able to offer our customers the first ever soapie designed for cellphones and moreover, because the mobi-soap is ad-sponsored, Vodacom customers can watch it free of charge,” says Shameel Joosub, managing director, Vodacom South Africa.

“There are more cellphones in the world than all televisions and PCs combined and mobile is emerging as the 7th mass medium for marketers” says Joosub who also explains that Vodacom’s strategy is to diversify into multimedia.

SoLikeLife tells the story of two twenty-something South Africans who meet, fall in love and are drawn into a relationship, within a virtual world that plays out on the cellphone. Although the storyline contains all the elements of a traditional soapie, including drama, romance and comedy, SoLikeLife breaks all the conventions of traditional TV as it is presented from the perspective of the two central characters - offering viewers a fly-on-the-wall, voyeuristic perspective of a relationship unfolding in a digital age.

Vodafone life! customers can choose to view the story as it unfolds, free of charge, by downloading a new episode to their phones daily. The first series of the mobi-soap consists of 40 mobisodes (episodes).

To view SoLikeLife on a 2.5G & 3G WAP enabled cellphone, Vodafone live! users can go to the “Celeb & Entertainment” section on the Vodafone live! menu, or Vodacom customers can send an SMS with the keyword “SLL” to 31116 (50c per SMS) and follow the link provided in the return message. This exciting soapie can also be viewed by non-Vodacom customers, however only the content will be free.