Navidul is a brand of cured serrano ham which, through humour and the claim “The thing you can’t resist”, works on the concept of irresistibility. For Spaniards, ham is the most and desired food item, a product which is very difficult to find outside Spain and which everyone misses desperately when they are abroad.

That’s why, to celebrate Mother’s Day, we wanted to put a group of expatriate Spaniards to the test. A week before the holiday, we made real telephone calls to them that we recorded without them knowing it. We explained that their mothers had won a contest and it depended on them to choose between two possible prizes.

They could choose either to have their mother sent to the foreign city where they lived so that they could spend Mother’s Day together, or we could send them just their mother’s suitcase, but filled with ham.

(SFX: Telephone ringtone)

ANA: Yes…?

LOCUTOR: Hello, good afternoon. I’m looking for Ana González.

ANA: Yes, that’s me.

LOCUTOR: Good afternoon. I’m calling from Navidul, because your mother has just won a drawing for consuming our ham.

ANA: Really?

LOCUTOR: Yes, and I wanted to tell you about the prize.

ANA: Is this for real?

LOCUTOR: Absolutely. It’s also because…

ANA: And what’s the prize?

LOCUTOR: The prize is…, in this case, for her daughter, and I see that you’re living abroad. Can you confirm for me that you live in Budapest? In Hungary?

ANA: Yes, that’s right. I live in Budapest.

LOCUTOR: You do? Great! Well…

ANA: How exciting!

LOCUTOR: Anyway, your mother gave us your number… and we just wanted to verify that that’s where you’re living. And, of course, to tell you about the prize. OK? Well, this coming Mother’s Day we’re going to fly your mother over to Budapest so that you can both spend the day together.

ANA: You’re joking, aren’t you? This has to be a joke! (laughter)

LOCUTOR: No, it’s true… But let me tell you something else. That’s just one of the options you have. There’s another one that I’m going to tell you about right now. The other is for us to send over just your mother’s suitcase, filled with Navidul ham. I don’t think you have much ham over there, do you?

ANA: No, no, not at all! Here it’s really a delicacy…

LOCUTOR: Whichever one you choose. But you have to choose one of those two options.

ANA: Oh, my God…! Now?

LOCUTOR: Yes, you have to decide right now.

ANA: Whew! Well, then I’m going to have to say the ham. I think I miss ham more than I do my mother… yeah, yeah…

ANNCR: Mother’s Day. Spend it with the one you love most. Navidul. The thing you can’t resist.