Telstra launches new ‘Together, It’s Magic’ work with musician Thelma Plum via The Monkeys
The Monkeys has unveiled its latest work, a campaign for Telstra that showcases the magic that is possible when you combine technology with the capabilities of Australia’s fastest mobile network.
The 60-sec commercial follows emerging Triple J Unearthed artist Thelma Plum as she heads out on a walk to the shops. This turns into much more of an enchanting experience as she harnesses the power of the Telstra network through her phone.
Directed by Joel Kefali of Goodoil Films, it features a fresh rendition of Flight Facilities’ track Clair de Lune by Thelma herself; the song has been released to coincide with the launch of the campaign.
The Monkeys cofounder and creative director Justin Drape says: “It has been a fun ride bringing this campaign to life. We’re thrilled to be able to work with Thelma – she has a captivating way of demonstrating the magic that’s possible when technology and the country’s best mobile network come together.”
To listen to Thelma Plum – Clair de Lune click here.
Client: Telstra
Executive Director of Marketing: Jeremy Nicholas
General Manager of Mobility Marketing: Dean Sofianopoulos
Senior Marketing Specialist: Sarah Leavitt
Creative Agency: The Monkeys
Cofounder & Creative Director: Justin Drape
Creative Team: Hugh Gurney, Chelsea Parks & Wassim Kanaan
Head of Production: Thea Carone
Senior Producer: Jade Rodriguez
Strategy Director: Kit Lansdell
Business Director: Kat Kelly
Content Director: Katie Bassett
Production Company: Goodoil Films
Director: Joel Kefali
EP: Sam Long
Producer: Andrew McLean
DOP: Crighton Bone
Edit House: The Editors
Editor: Bernard Garry
Post VFX: Fin Design
VFX Supervisor: Justin Bromley
Grade: Ben Eagleton @ BE Colour
Sound House: Song Zu
Engineer: Simon Kane
Track: Thelma Plum cover of FF “Clair de Lune”
Photography Production Company: Red Door
Photographer: Paul Blackmore
Producer: Natalie Loveridge
Agency Producer: Tanith Williamson
Retouching: Cream Electric Art
18 Comments
And that’s what an Apple ad looks like without the magic, craft or idea.
Together, it’s Tragic
Amirite?
All I can take away from this is that we’re controlled by technology. Oops.
Is there some sort of legal requirement in Australia that every ad have the same droll voice explain the creative idea? Or is it that clients don’t respect the audience enough to trust them to figure it out on their own. Or agencies don’t have the budgets or experience to ensure it isn’t needed?
I really wonder if it would be possible to create something like the Apple Barbershop (https://vimeo.com/226313053) here. Go on Australia, make a single ad without a VO, please.
Shit that was trying pretty hard wasn’t it. An Apple commercial via Kmart.
Is anyone else tiring of the vague poetry about phones from a droll generic vo artist?
And what are we advertising here? Just the modern phone world in general? Good-o.
Questioning some of the Monkeys output lately..
Hahaha cmon
I dig It
Hollow rubbish.
My Telstra service was down for three days last week.
The ad is over-reaching rubbish, but do you blame the ad or the fact that Telstra is a third rate Telco.
The rhyming device trying to hold Telstra’s TV advertising together is really getting in the way of clear communication.
Yeah – would have been quite a pleasant time passer without that v/o distracting me with its year 9 poetry nonsense. Equivalent of walking into a shop and being harassed out the door by a shop assistant desperately trying to flog you something vs. being left to browse and be happy.
The monkeys for doing a generic ad and copying everyone else.
The monkeys for not being brave enough to stand up and tell Telstra that none of it makes sense?
Telstra for still believing that they are magic, when they can’t even get the basics right and are now strongly second best locally.
Telstra, for having an outdated marketing structure that consistently fails to deliver.
I really like the ad, nice craft, less or no VO would be great though obviously. But the problem is Telstra just can’t deliver on this, as a customer my service seems to get worse as time goes on. This ad for a better product would be bonza.
‘Apple ad via Kmart’. You flaming up, Telstra
I’m a big fan of Thelma Plum…she deserved a better commercial.
Absolutely spot on. The rhyming device they have been using for the last few years has stopped them from actually saying anything. I can’t actually recall any key message from any Telstra ad for ages.
As usual; pretty pictures, cool music, no message.
I challenge fellow creatives to write some scripts with zero VO. Barely any of the all-time great commercials ever needed dialogue. It’s screenwriting not speechwriting.
For Telstra it’s a clear example, and you guys are absolutely right the whole cute rhyme thing has meant they’ve broadcast a whole stack of vague nothings and not communicated anything other that we’re a phone company that makes digitised magic (like making large bills magically appear or making your phone call magically disconnect).
On a brighter note it feels like there’s a consensus people are tiring of this recipe, which is great.
This ad looks like an episode of Black Mirror.
What a lame ad. I switch Chanel’s when o see it.