Family comes to the fore in most Lunar New Year ads, reflecting the holiday’s role in bringing families together. Vietnamese agency, The Friday, has brought that tradition up to date with a wonderful adventure story called Uncle Badass for Viettal Telecom’s 5G service, the story of an uncle from northern Vietnam who ventures across the country on a motorbike to visit his family when they can’t make it home.

Its bright humour and touch of madness is lighting up social media. Uncle Badass plays games with middle-schoolers, accidentally climbs Vietnam’s highest mountain, has a classic tattoo mishap, loses his belongings at the beach, and continues part of the journey in outfits borrowed from drag performers.

Underneath the humour is a relatable message. It reframes the Tết holiday, not as an act of returning, but as one of reaching out. Viettal’s 5G fits subtly into the background in the role of a reaching-out facilitator. This subtle shift connects with audiences who see their own modern families as scattered, busy, yet deeply connected.

The campaign also presents communities rarely seen in mainstream ads, with drag performers, tattoo artists, gamers, and floating market vendors shown as everyday people the uncle encounters on his journey…

…It gives the appeal of personality and human understanding to a brand seen as traditional in a sector often perceived as cold.