The campaign leverages Malaysia's passion for football, using it as a sport to unite the brand with its audience.
Using the tagline, 'We don't just join you in conversations, we join you in your passions, the spot parodies an English football match complete with a fast-paced commentary. However, the players are regular Malaysians kicking a football around the city of Kuala Lumpur.
TBWA-ISC created the campaign, which is airing on 12 channels of the Astro platform -- from sport channels such as ESPN Star Sports and Astro Super Sports to CNN, MTV, Star Movies and AXN.
"British soccer is still the most popular sport in Malaysia, and the objective of the campaign is to cement Telekom's connection with the people," said Chris Howden, executive creative director of TBWA-ISC. " Its about bringing people closer together and one thing that unites Malaysians is their passion for football."
Celcom, Telekom's mobile operator, sponsors the English Premier League. Telekom is facing increasing competition not only from local rivals, but increasingly from overseas challengers such as BT, SingTel and AT&T.
Malaysian telco uses football to build connection
Telekom Malaysia is capitalising on its three-year sponsorship of English FA Cup and England home games to take the battle to a growing roster of rivals.