Jimmy Barnes is a Telstra technician in the new ‘Our Network Commitment’ spot via DDB Sydney
Telstra has launched the first in a series of spots, set to roll out over the coming months featuring famous Australians together with Telstra staff via DDB Sydney. The series will help Telstra tell the story of change that is sweeping through Telstra.
The Network Commitment campaign centres around Telstra’s commitment to ‘Whatever it takes, to bring you Australia’s best mobile experience’ – told through the eyes of real Telstra staff in an authentic, warm and human way – with a celebrity twist.
In the new spot directed by Filmgraphics Entertainment’s David Deneen, Jimmy Barnes plays the role of a Telstra technician, who along with other Telstra technicians is helping build and expand our mobile network in order to give our customers a superior service. Telstra is using well known and much loved Australians, such as Barnes, as a way to help express that the company has the best mobile network which want to be famous for it.
Other campaign elements include national press, outdoor advertising and digital advertising banners on 3rd Party sites supported by a landing page on Telstra.com/network
Says Andy Bateman, Telstra director segment marketing: “This ad is the first of a series that we are planning, which uses famous Australians, together with our own Telstra staff. The series will showcase the different roles and expertise of our staff and our commitment to caring for our customers – so much so that ‘we want to be famous for it.
“The first campaign, featuring Jimmy Barnes, conveys the message that we are committed to giving our customers Australia’s best and most reliable mobile network – one that covers over 2.3 million square kilometres and is significantly larger than the next largest network.
“The three campaigns that follow in this series will each have a slightly different focus, but again will feature famous Australians working alongside and being helped by our real staff in different Telstra workplaces, for example on our network tower sites and in our contact centres.
“It is important to note that this campaign is much more than a marketing strategy, it marks the beginning of a deep shift in our company’s DNA. We are not perfect and we know we have more to do, but we’re committed to showing our customers how much we care about helping them connect to the people and things they love and with this campaign we want to also do that in a fun and engaging way.”
Says Dylan Harrison, DDB Sydney creative director: “The scale of change around these commitments demanded an equally ambitious creative idea. We wanted to use real staff in real locations so Australians could hear it straight from the engine room where the change is happening. Much loved, well known Australians are the magic dust to make the ads really stand out.
“People love to solve puzzles when watching ads and are curious to know why some of Australia’s favourite celebrities are now working for Telstra. The punch line works really well, when a real Telstra staff member takes over from the celebrity, representing all Telstra employees who not only want to be famous themselves but are the people who are making it happen.”
23 Comments
Saw it last night. Didn’t get it.
I loved the ad!!
My son is one of the Telstra techies in the background.
I’ve never before hung out out to watch an ad.
Thanks Telstra for thinking (and making us think) ‘outside the square’.
I loved the ad!!
My son is one of the Telstra techies in the background.
I’ve never before hung out out to watch an ad.
Thanks Telstra for thinking (and making us think) ‘outside the square’.
A new low in telco advertising.
I pitched a similar idea as this to Ansett back in the day, except Jimmy was playing a lifesize crab like Sebastian in the littel Mermaid. I can see now this one makes moar sense #keeptotheleft
Ian Moss would be rolling around in his grave. If he were dead.
I love a good back scratch.
You’ll love mine punters… I’m using it as part of my comeback.
http://www.johnfarnham.com.au
Another Irish Accent in a Telco ad. iiNet must be very proud of what they’ve started.
Looks like jimmy showed up on set and had to improvise as the band and the lyrics were somewhere else…what other explanation?
Saw it again last night, paid attention and still didn’t get it. Please explain. Someone, please.
It’s just rubbish, why is he called Rob?
Oh yeah, did I mention it’s rubbish and shit and people in Telstra should lose their lives (well jobs)?
Where does the Buck stop?
Why? It makes no sense to me. What’s the idea? Please explain.
James Barnes explores what it is to be human in this deeply moving and sometimes darkly satirical journey into identity and the id. His persona is stripped away early in the film to reveal his new emergent-self, as Rob, a ‘technician’, working for a fictitious communications company, Telstra.
At one point ‘Rob’ speaks to his mother via the same device he maintains, projecting a somewhat obvious Freudian moment into an otherwise masterfully subtle retelling of ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’ by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Just as the suffering Ivan says, “Why can’t you understand? The stars fall down now and then. The gaps have to be filled”, the clearly agonised Barnes talks directly to camera and cries for help as he declares, “With fewer dead spots, at Telstra, we care about your mobile experience!”
His helmet is then stolen.
@ to be sure to be sure – Jimmy is Scottish born not Irish – nice stereotyping you moron.
As for the ad – I don’t get it – “Jimmy Barnes as Rob”… why? And get rid of that whistling music shite.
Fuck you Being a Telstra tech is one of the most rewarding jobs mate, Without us you probley wouldn’t have a mobile phone
Why the heck would you get a well known celebrity to play a character? Jimmy Barnes is Jimmy Barnes. Which “Einstein” decided he should play “Rob”. Where is the relevance? If Telstra wanted Jimmy Barnes, then they should have gotten Jimmy Barnes to endorse the brand. All I see is a well known celebrity trying to hide his involvement with Telstra behind a pseudonym.
What a great looking helmet – the “Australian Made” UniSafe industrial safety helmet.
Hey Pete the Telstra ‘tech’, it’s that attitude that makes me hate your company with a passion. Without Telstra we wouldn’t have a self entitled telco with thousands of self entitled drones providing sub-par services. Dick…. BTW the ad is shite
Seriously. How dumb do Telstra think we are? Jimmy Barnes is pretending to be a Testra technician? As if he’s not doing that for the money. Quite pathetic.
I’m with Mensa, I don’t get it. Barnes just stands around with a dumb grin on his face and a hard hat on while everyone else around him’s working. How does that make him ‘Rob, the Technician?’ More like ‘Rob, the lazy old fart everyone hates cause he just stands around and doesn’t work’
I don’t think Telstra’s and Optus’s new campaigns, that basically declare, “We are now going to be awesome!” will sweeten the bitter taste that remains in the mouths of the tens of thousands of customers that they offend each and every year. And I’m sure in another 10 years people in suburbs 10 mins outside of Richmond, Windsor and other major areas will still be paying the same price for services that are 10-20 times slower and less reliable. Telstra will always be famous for being the privatised profit seekers that inherited their infrastructure from the government, and Optus (AKA Singapore Telecommunications / “Singtel”) will keep saying “No” to customer service. Meanwhile, the other telcos will continue to make claims of service they cannot support, due to their reliance on Telstra’s and Optus’s infrastructure and technicians. A commodity without competition: we all need it, but we need to wait patiently till it is within the monetary interests of Telstra to give it to us. Don’t worry though, the government is now essentially rebuilding the telecommunications infrastructure from scratch, so we should have decent services in about 30 years, if NBNCo doesn’t get sold or scrapped.
IS JIMMY’S Mom alive? Hope so, it would be a great Faux Pas if not!.
Any insight?
Texan