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)

ELENA: Hello?

LOCUTOR: Hello, good afternoon.

ELENA: Hello.

LOCUTOR: I’m looking for Elena García.

ELENA: Yes, that’s me.

LOCUTOR: Hello, I’m calling from Navidul. Your mother has just won one of our drawings and I wanted to congratulate you.

ELENA: Wow! Thanks a lot!

LOCUTOR: Because, you see, the prize is for our winners’ sons and daughters who are living abroad.

ELENA: You’re joking! I’m in shock! (laughter)

LOCUTOR: So… If you want, I can tell you a little about the prize, OK? Well, as Mother’s Day is coming up, what we’re going to do is make it possible for your mother to spend the day with you.

ELENA: But I live in Dublin! How are you going to do that?

LOCUTOR: Yes, you live in Dublin, don’t you?

ELENA: Yeah.

LOCUTOR: Well, we’ll fly your mother over just for the day, and you can spend it together with her… Are you happy with that?

ELENA: With seeing my mother? Sure! Of course I am! She hasn’t been here for two years now and I’ve been here for five… She came over the first few years but she hasn’t been back since then.

LOCUTOR: Well, that’s the prize. The only thing is, I’m also going to give you a second option, OK? Either your mother and you can spend the day together like I’ve said, or…

ELENA: Yeah?

LOCUTOR: Or… we’ll send over just your mother’s suitcase, filled with ham…

ELENA: Wow!! Well, that’s…. (laughter)

LOCUTOR: Which I’m sure you’re missing quite a lot over there…

ELENA: Well… What I miss the most is ham… and my mother…. Man!

LOCUTOR: It’s up to you… the ham… or your mother…

ELENA: So I have to choose: my mother comes over to Dublin…

LOCUTOR: That’s right.

ELENA: Or you send me a suitcase full of ham. In other words, my mother or the ham… I don’t know, that’s a hard one! What do I choose, the ham or my mother? Oh God, I don’t know… I…

LOCUTOR: Listen, no one’s going to know about this. It’s your decision.

ELENA: I think I’ll take the ham. Yes, the ham. My mother’s not going to find out… (laughter) And that’s a lot of ham!

LOCUTOR: Great! Brilliant!

ELENA: Later I’ll send her a bit.

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