Sometimes the driest subject matters result in the most creative responses. We’ve seen in it the design space, and of course it happens in advertising too.

One example is the art of the pre-film screening in cinemas asking people to switch off their phones. Network providers have often taken up the task with aplomb – these were always historically quite enjoyable in the UK – and Australian telco Telstra has joined the party with a new trio of entertaining shorts by Dougal Wilson, advertising director turned Paddington in Peru filmmaker.

Mirror Mirror subverts the ideas around beauty, Magnetic Boy features a child who has a curious affliction (or perhaps a superpower?), and Four Legged Friend sees a lonely diner dance with an unlikely companion – but not a dog as the title may suggest.

The films play with the tropes and stylistic features of old cinema, from the music, to the grainy title cards, to the twinkly lighting.

The dialogue is stripped out of the shorts, in both an ode to early silent films and a reference to the joy of watching a movie without phone conversations interrupting the experience.

The outcome is curious and charming, in keeping with the tone of its recent Telstra Business campaign, also created by Bear Meets Eagle on Fire. The project is Wilson’s first production in Australia and his first commercial project since 2018.

Credits:
Creative Agency: Bear Meets Eagle On Fire with +61
Production Company: Finch
Director: Dougal Wilson
Director of Photography: Jeremy Rouse
Production Designer: Neville Stevenson
Special Effects: MEG SFX
Edit House: ARC
Post-Production Company: ALT VFX