A human thumb called Thummie takes on the challenge of climbing Mt Everest in Howatson+Company’s new commercial for Belong. It battles blizzards,is confronted by vultures and even comes thumb to face with a Nepalese mountain yak on its journey to the summit. And it’s all to show that the average Australian scrolls the height of Mt Everest (8,849 metres) on their phones every month. That every scroll ultimately contributes towards more energy consumption and higher carbon emissions.
The campaign for Belong reminds Australians of its carbon neutral mobile and internet plans. The eye-catching commercial, Thummit, was directed byPeter Martin of Hooves with VFX by Heckler.
Aaliah Eggins-Bryson, head of product and marketing at Belong, commented, “While the carbon impact of energy, food and transport on the environment is well understood, few are aware of the carbon impact from their phone usage. We wanted to link the issue to a behaviour people could relate to, scrolling on their mobile phones, in a way that really grabbed their attention.”
Gavin Chimes, executive creative dsirector at Howatson+Company, added, “Everest is a long way to climb for a human with legs. It’s even longer for a human thumb without them. Yet every month, our thumbs scroll that very distance. This fact was the perfect launch point for us to create a campaign to educate people about what that means for the environment. And show that with Belong’s carbon neutral mobile and internet, you can feel good about scrolling.”
The full campaign includes 60-second, 30-second & 15-second TVCs, supported by outdoor, radio, social and digital placements.
In 2019 Belong became Australia’s first carbon neutral telco. Since then Belong has offset more than 230,000 tonnes of CO2 (at no cost to its customers). This new campaign builds on Belong’s exemplary environmental record. The Telstra subsidiary is also committed to reducing emissions by 50% by 2030.
Credits:
Client: Belong
Senior Marketing Specialist at Belong: Abbey J Hindle
Head of Product and Marketing at Belong: Aaliah Eggins-Bryson
Chief Executive Officer at Belong: Jana Kotatko
Agency: Howatson+Company
Founder & CEO: Chris Howatson
Executive Creative Director: Gavin Chimes
Creative Director: Scott Zuliani
Senior Copywriter: Will Halstead
Senior Art Directors: Tom Macphail & Madeleine Purdy
Head of Media: Sasha Smith
Head of Production: Holly Alexander
Producer: Caitlin Perz
Client Partner: Ollie Wearne
Senior Account Director: Angela Lethbridge
Senior Account Manager: Maddy Philips
Design Director: Ellena Mills
Junior Designer: Eleanor Donley
Finished Artist: Simon Merrifield
Media Strategy, Investment Director at Howatson+Company: Jamie Nelson
Media Implementation: OMD
PR Agency: SHAPER x CLEMS
Production Company: Hooves
Director: Peter Martin
Producers: Chelsea Nieper & Rachael Morrow
Executive Producer: John Pace
Editor: Kevin Zimmerman
Post-Production Company: Heckler
Head of Post-Production: Amy Jarman
Music & Sound: Smith & Western
Voiceover Artist: Lee Perry
