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Telecom and Saatchi & Saatchi give prepaid users the slap

A fictional blogger who dons unusually large hands is the key figure in a Saatchi & Saatchi campaign that gives prepaid users a whack around the ears from Telecom.

The agency hyped the message online before hitting TV screens, with a blog said to be ‘A gloriously reverential homage to the hand.’

The unbranded, teased content set the stage for ‘Andy Palmer’ to star in the TVC, designed to “snap apathetic prepaid consumers out of their ways and get them to wake up to Telecom’s great value props, not least of which is the impressive $60 free credit hero offer that has launched with the campaign”, says Saatchi & Saatchi.

Account director Brendon McLean says it wanted to reach two key market segments: pre-paid pack buyers who skew slightly younger and pay as you go users.

“A lot of people in the prepaid market aren’t even aware that Telecom does prepaid.”

He didn’t give too much away about the slap victims, but said it came as a surprise to them, although somehow we doubt Telecom would sign off on a campaign that assaulted innocent bystanders on the street. 

Telecom’s general manager of brand, communications and digital, Kellie Nathan, says prepaid users can be stuck in their ways.

“We’ve found that even though we’ve been consistently offering some of the best prepaid deals in the market for the past 12 months, prepaid customers just can’t seem to be bothered switching,” she says. “Hopefully with this new ‘Snap out of it’ campaign we can break down some of the misconceptions about how difficult or inconvenient it is to switch mobile providers and in doing so encourage people to compare our value with the other guys objectively.”

The campaign will also include outdoor and other digital executions. Saatchi & Saatchi creative director Antonio Navas quipped that production company Thick as Thieves handled the simple idea with a “lightness of touch”. 

Credits

Client: Telecom New Zealand

CMO: Jason Paris

GM Brand, Comms & Digital: Kellie Nathan

Comms Team: Arnna Conroy, Jessica Moloney, Niko Walters. 
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand 
Executive Creative Director: Antonio Navas 
Creative Directors: Brad Collet & Slade Gill 
Account Team: Ben Fielding, Brendon McLean, Rachael Williams 
Planner: Janisa Parag

Agency Producer: Megan Poppelwell 
Production Company: Thick as Thieves 
Director: Alex Sutherland 
Executive Producer: Nik Beachman
Producer: Claire Kelly 
Cinematographer: Marty Williams 
Hands: Glasshammer 
Post Facility: Blockhead 
Editor: Julian Curran 
Grade: Pete Ritchie
Online: Nigel Mortimer & Puck Murphy 
Music Composition: Peter van der Fluit – Liquid Studios 
Audio Post: Craig Matuschka – Liquid Studios 
Producers: Tamara O’Neill and Sarah Yetton

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