During Nine’s broadcast of the State of Origin decider, Telstra caught the attention of many pundits after they broadcasted an evolved “whistle man” ad with the help of TikTok. The evolution comes off the back of heavy traction that the ‘Duet’ ad has gained on social media, specifically TikTok.
In order for Telstra to pull off this hilarious evolution, it partnered with TikTok to source the content and get the permission of each content creator.
Brent Smart, Telstra’s CMO, took to LinkedIn to share the idea behind the evolved ad: “If you were watching the State of Origin decider last night (Australia’s biggest rugby game), you may have noticed that the Telstra brand ad turned up differently.
“We’ve had a bunch of people make TikTok videos doing the walk and whistle from our ad, some positive, some negative, but all of them taking the time to engage with our brand and play with our brand. And we love that, so we decided to celebrate it on the biggest stage we could,” he said.
The one time ad was played in the 7th minute of the decider, just before Queensland’s Valentine Holmes kicked a two point penalty goal to put his sides nose in front. Here’s a look at the ad. Though we stress B&T’s views on the spot are not aligned with those of this content creator.
@hecticfred AYRIB TELSTRA 😂 #nrl #nrltiktok #nrlhighlights #nsworigin #stateoforigin ♬ original sound – Hecticfred
The evolution comes from a film called ‘Duet’ and is apart of Telstra’s newest brand platform ‘Wherever we go’, which is an integrated campaign that’s as charmingly distinctive as it is ambitious. The film features two characters who journey together through a wondrous world in perfect harmony as a metaphor for partnership. It is brought to life by Oscar-nominated animation duo Smith and Foulkes, and ‘Duet’ is set to a whistling composition of the iconic ‘Islands in the Stream’.
The ad has taken on a life of it’s own, with people imitating it all over TikTok. One specific post by Amelia Candace gained 270.5k views and 18.5k likes. The video involves her and a friend leaving an NRL Roosters game, whilst remaking the Telstra walk and whistle.
This attention that the walk and whistle gained on TikTok led to the one-off remake.
“We’ve seen so many great takes online from the audience that we thought what better way to bring them together than on the big screen for the biggest game of the year,” a Telstra spokesperson told B&T.
@ameliacandace Cannot stand this ad😂😭 #telstraad #nrltelstraad #wistleguytelstra #nrl ♬ Telstra Whistle Ad – JCC_sports
In a win for Telstra who is the naming rights partner for the NRL and NRLW, NSW Blues 18th man and Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs winger Jacob Kiraz, recreated the video himself on fellow teammate Bronson Xerri’s TikTok account. This video alone got 632.9k views and 59.5k likes.
@bronsxerri Is this our winger @Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs ♬ original sound – Fresh NRL
@hecticfred THIS IS TORTURE BRO #nrl #rugbyleague #nrlhighlights #canterburybankstownbulldogs #brisbanebroncos ♬ original sound – Hecticfred
