The sight of a police car pulling over a driver brings your brain to attention. Even in a commercial. You are riveted to the screen. The officer begins that dreaded familiar blurb, “Do you realise that you just drove…”

But he’s alerting the two young drivers to a Telstra deal they missed. It comes out of nowhere. It turns tension into humour. And you’re sure as hell going to remember that Telstra has a special deal.

The commercial is part of a campaign, Deals You Didn’t See Coming, created by The Monkeys and directed by Finch’s Benji Weinstein, that captures familiar and relatable moments that take a turn for the unexpected. The full campaign includes broadcast TV, digital, OOH, retail, social and radio, and will run throughout the year to highlight Telstra’s great retail deals.

Brent Smart, chief marketing officer, Telstra, commented, “There’s a lot of retail clutter in our category, we want to cut through the noise and showcase our deals with a bit of unexpected humour that you might not have seen coming from our brand.”

Ant Keogh, chief creative officer, The Monkeys, added “These are retail spots, and they tell a story about great value which can potentially go on indefinitely. And while we feature a giant starburst rondel in every ad, the humour allows us to treat the audience with respect and intelligence the whole time.”

The campaign launched to promote $750.00 0ff a range of devices, an offer which runs until September 4 2023.

Credits:

Creative Agency: The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song
The Monkeys Group CEO & Accenture Song ANZ President: Mark Green
Co-founder & Group Chief Creative Officer: Scott Nowell
Chief Creative Officer: Ant Keogh
Managing Director: Matt Michael
Chief Client Officer: Belinda Drew
Creative Directors: Hugh Gurney, Connor Beaver & Joseph Sibley
Business Strategy Director: Ben De Castella
Strategist: Brona Kilkelly
Group Business Director: Amanda Porritt
Senior Business Director: Alex Austin
Senior Business Manager: Ciara Moloney
Head of Production & Producer: Romanca Mundrea
Production Assistant: Genya Mik

Production Company: Finch
Director: Benji Weinstein
Managing Director: Corey Esse
Producers: Caroline David & Viv Jaspers

Post Production: ARC Edit & Atticus
Editor: Drew Thompson
Offline Producer: Winnie O’Neil
Online Executive Producer: Amelia Bromley
Online: Chris Betteridge
Colourist: Martin Greer

Sound: Squeak E. Clean Studios
Head of Sound: Paul Le Couteur
Exec Producer: Ceri Davies
Head of Production: Emma Duncan
Casting: Peta Einberg @ Peta Einberg Casting