Phones4U is poised to launch a £3m integrated campaign this weekend, including a Christmas Cracker mobile and social app, to highlight its range of handsets as the busy seasonal trading period kicks off.

The campaign, its first-ever Christmas themed strategy, will kick off tomorrow with TV executions voiced-over by The Inbetweeners and The Thick of It actor Alex MacQueen.

The campaign will highlight the retailer’s pre-paid offers and “gifting propositions” with digital executions including a Christmas Cracker mobile and social app which is set to be promoted using paid-for media.

Users of the app are encouraged to share – or pull – the app with their Facebook friends, see image in gallery, with ‘winners’ of the ‘cracker-pull’ eligible to win prizes ranging from download codes for ringtones to actual handsets.

Melanie Dixon, Phones4U social media manager, said, “We’re targeting a mix of people with the campaign ranging from young people who [tend to] buy pre-paid handsets to parents that are buying for their children,” said Dixon.

The Christmas-themed competition will be complemented by an online video, voiced-over by MacQueen, which will be personalised with the names of individual entrants voiced by MacQueen, click here to view video.

Phones4U’s Christmas Cracker smartphone app, Android and iOS, is a skill-based app that encourages users to tap the screen as quickly as possible to ‘win’ a prize, see image right.

The campaign will be supported with executions across multiple social networks with Dixon informing new media age that Facebook tends to be a better channel to reach younger audiences by promoting its games-style content.

“Twitter is a bit more tech-led [in terms of the audience Phones4U can reach] so tends to be a bit older… It’s also a good channel for customer service enquiries,” she added.

The ad creative was developed by creative communications agency adam&eveddb with the media campaign managed by its communications planning and media buying arm, Eden.