Alexander Graham Bell brought back to life by Three Drunk Monkeys in new Telstra campaign
Telstra, via Three Drunk Monkeys Sydney, is launching a new campaign promoting their new T-Hub touch screen landline phone. Each of the eight spots going to air from this weekend onwards brings to life the inventor of the telephone and his take on Telstra’s new contraption.
VIEW THE FIRST SPOT:
Client: Telstra
Executive Creative Directors: Justin Drape, Scott Nowell
Creative Director: Leslie Ali
Lead Creatives: Damian Fitzgerald, Matt Heck
Group Content Director: Dan Beaumont
Content Directors: Jill Large, Georgina Ashley
Content Manager: Daniel Deutsch
Content Executive: Jacqueline Pollard
Agency Producers: Thea Carone, Helen Willis, Mel Herbert
Director: Martin Granger
Production Company: Soma films
Executive Producer: Sam McGarry
DoP: Andrew Lesnie
Media Agency: OMD
OMD Business Director: Aaron Quirk
OMD Account Director: Chris Caley
53 Comments
Fantastic stuff from the Monkeys. Absolutely love your work.
– Jim.
The old severed head of an old phone inventor in a glass jar chestnut. Ha ha!
Like it a lot. Very fresh for Telstra.
Certainly original, that’s for sure.
Jim, are you having a laugh? It’s a load of old tosh, dull as ditch water and the writing is just plain shoddy.
If that is fantastic jim…well you gotta get out more.
It is average at best and unfortunately i cant even remember what it is advertising after watching it.
Guys, it’s pretty good
God another product testimonial ad.
Surely the industry can do better than this?
Perhaps we should send the Monkeys the book that’s on the home page of Campaign Brief ‘How it make it as a creative’
Good to see someone is still reusing bewitched scripts in ads! Thumbs up for reusing old TV shows with the advertising husband!
It’s fresh and entertaining. And campaignable. I like it.
Obviously fans of Futurama.
Think the idea must of been phoned in.
Could go on but can’t be bothered.
Rubbish.
I guess monkeys just can’t stop throwing poo.
It’s definitely campaignable, but there’s a tonne of shite campaigns out there. the work for the same product for iinet is much better. For a start it has a contemporary fresh idea – not a fresh idea from 1985.
I’m switching to Optus
I quite like it as a stand alone ad, I like it more when I consider the client.
Nice spot. Good to see Telstra doing some decent work.
Brave work for Telstra.
I’ll be interested to see where they take it with the other 7 spots…
good spot
I reckon it’s rad
Fuck me. This is a Telstra ad? This cant be right.
NOAH still there?
Dull, dull , dull……c’mon guys, i know they’re flavour of the month at the moment, but their shit smells the same as everyone elses.
This will pick up a few awards.
Good work.
yawn?
awards??? lets hope youre not a juror
What?
this is sooooo boring and I spent three years doing crap for telstra.
Why couldn’t an Australian director have done that? Seems ridiculous.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/9/9c/20050531081452!Alexander_Graham_Bell.jpeg
Hey Jay, wanna fight?
As someone has already said, this is a very old chestnut. And it’s been done many time before, except better. If I’d seen this without knowing who did, it I’d have said Ogilvy of BWM, no way The Monkeys. I expect better creative work from them. This certainly isn’t it. A first thought idea. Should have moved on.
I thought Telstra had added The Monkeys to their roster to do some alternative, more creative work. This is more of the same dross their existing agencies are churning out.
is it just me, or does the drunk moneys work all kind of look the same? I don’t mean conceptually, but all their TV stuff particularly seems really plain looking.
Not necessarily a criticism, but they certainly don’t do anything beautiful or remotely sophisticated from an art direction viewpoint. Unwired, foxtel, this stuff, even 30 Seconds. Workman-like perhaps?
Just an observation.
I am kind of wondering why people expect great work from the monkeys, nothing they’ve done for the last three years is better than anything Olgivy or BWM has done (no I don’t or haven’t worked for either). Why all the hype??? snooooooooooooooozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeee
FUTURAMA
rip off
get original
A lot of pretty negative comments for a Telstra ad that features a severed head. When I earlier suggested it was an ‘old chestnut’ I was joking.
Are we seriously suggesting this isn’t original. Come on! If you don’t like it that’s fine but suggesting it’s a rip off…. nasty.
6:36 PM = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2uAdNLApVc
Now apologise.
It’s no wonder Alexander Graham Bell is so cantankerous in this ad.
He clearly doesn’t want to be there.
Wallpaper.
Imagine the industry response if O&M or Patts had done it.
Send it to any of your mates overseas and get their unbiased opinion. Very very average and precisely the type of work Telstra supposedly appointed them not to do.
Its simply a dull device enabling them to list a string of product features.
Most ads are ripped off pop-culture that originated on the Simpsons or something similar.
Poppycock indeed.
Fair cop, most of their clients look to be pretty retail service, I imagine it must be difficult to get good work through. Maybe when they start picking up some better brands they can showcase some better creative.
Q: How many monkey’s does it take to work on crap telstra ads?
A: All of them by the looks of it. The client must be hard work…
Q2: Why are the suits called ‘content’ director / manager / executive… etc? Is the the latest wank-term for new-age agencys?
i can’t believe the idea of getting an international director in for this.
it makes me feel sick for our industry.
9.46, is that you Justin. Or Noah? Maybe Scott. Either way, save your feeble attempts at defending this ad. Get back to doing the good work you were renowned for. And only put up a release on the ones that are worth it. You should know by now that careers are built on the work you don’t share as much as the work you do.
Ben,
Get back to writing spec ads. YOU should know by now that careers are built on doing a good job not sniping out other people that are more talented than you.
At the end of the day, it’s just another talking head commercial.
9:46 can dish it out but he can’t take it.
After that recent Nova campaign further notice that Monkeys creative star may be waning – for now at least.
I’m not sure 12:02
I think they’re just trying to make a buck in uncertain times. A business is a business, whether you’re selling arts and media or aerosol cans.
I worked for Telstra for years. Telstra is an enormous, conservative Goliath that throw large amounts of money at you to work on their bland, and somewhat faulty, products.
I’m sure 3 Wise Monkeys haven’t lost their egde, they’re just tryin to make some dosh.
I mean, isn’t that why we work? Surely it’s not to make artistic statements.
Right?
Oh dear.
I’d love to say ‘great ad boys’ but you’ve already congratulated yourself enough.
hey graham bell did not invent the telephone he patented . the inventor is meucci
2.56 – I would agree except others like BWM seem to have managed to get some decent work out of the Goliath and made a few bucks at the same time. In my experience the danger with producing mediocre work for conservative clients is that you win the battle but lose the war. I prefer the JayGrey approach on this basis – makes creative and business sense.
Hmmm. If I got a client like Telstra I wouldn’t care how lame the work was. I’m in this for the money. I’m not Jay Furby and ain’t going to try to be. If someone throws money at me I’ll put their white text on a blue background any time they like.
Ugh. Suffers from “Yay! We landed big client! Let’s save on paying a writer to come up with the ideas for us and just do it ourselves!” syndrome. Lame.