At the centre of the campaign, which is by creative agency Bear Meets Eagle on Fire with +61, is a whimsical animated film titled Duet. Created by renowned directing duo Smith & Foulkes, the spot features two characters who journey together through a magical world, while accompanied by a whistled version of the song Islands in the Stream.

Alongside the film is an epic OOH campaign, which is on display across almost 3,000 sites. It includes a series of painted wall murals and special builds featuring graphic illustrations by Ben Hassler that have been painstakingly recreated in layers of paper by artist Kyle Bean and photographer Carl Kleiner.

The campaign marks an intentional shift away from Telstra’s previous corporate image, according to Brent Smart, Telstra’s CMO, with the hope that it will be the start of a more contemporary and playful chapter for the brand.

“If you want to change how people feel about your brand, you have to change how the brand feels,” Smart says. “This work captures the spirit of optimism and promise of partnership that we want the Telstra brand to be all about. We want to show that the biggest brands can also be the most imaginative.”

As Micah Walker, founder and CCO of Bear Meets Eagle On Fire points out, it has become unusual to see this level of craft at the heart of a major campaign. “I’m just proud of all the folks who’ve cared so hard to make this work,” he says. “It’s not that often you get to make work this considered and crafted, and to do it at this scale is just really rare.”

Credits:
Creative Agency: Bear Meets Eagle On Fire with +61
Production Company: Riff Raff
Directors: Smith & Foulkes
Photography: Studio Kleiner
Illustrator: Ben Hasler
Paper Artist: Kyle Bean
Paper Assistant: Andrea Portoles
Post Production: Stilletto