StarHub hones street savvy blitz for i-mode

As part of the 'i like. i-mode' campaign which soft-launched in October, TV is serving as the main thrust behind the initiative, with a 45-second spot debuting in mid-November. According to Neil Johnson, executive creative director of DDB Singapore -- which scooped the Starhub business in June (Media online, June 8) -- the TV spot builds on the street-savvy brand positioning to depict a surreal environment where people interact with the different i-mode content offerings. "(It's) a TVC where the idea is the execution," said Johnson. "DDB opted for a seamless moving photo-collage to illustrate the moods of the audience, creating a 'controlled chaos' that mixes virtual reality with real people. Coupled with an originally-composed high-energy melody, the intended result is a visually stunning music video representative of i-mode's rich, multifaceted, colourful, fun and easy-to-use character." Singapore is the second country in Asia, after Japan, to offer the i-mode service, which allows users to visit over 90,000 sites via their mobile phones. In particular, the service touts its abilities to deliver such content as cinema booking, airline ticketing, news updates and mobile banking. To date, i-mode boasts of 40 million users worldwide. "I like that the i-mode cuts across the 3G hype to deliver stuff that's really happening," said DDB Singapore chief executive officer David Tang. "The technology is great, yet it's amazingly simple-to-use. We developed the line 'i like. i-mode', which conveys the simple, street-savvy positioning for a new way of (using the) mobile internet." Before rolling out TV, the i-mode campaign launched a range of other advertising executions, including print, online and point-of-sale. Notably, the outdoor component featured an art sculpture, a 'dressed-up' bus stop and bare-bodied male dancers wearing handpainted i-mode 'shirts'. "This TV commercial rates as one of the most ambitious in post-production technology, where every element was deliberately orchestrated with a timing that's nothing less than poetic," added Tang. "After all, it must befit the world's most highly-evolved mobile internet service, made easy for consumers to use." The TV spot was filmed and produced by Farouk Alijoffery and Planet Films, and is running on free-to-air and cable. The song is an original composition, by Sydney's Song Zu. At DDB, Chris Lim, Alex Kuo and Xavier Wong handled writing duties, with Francis Tan and Sharon Chan entrusted with art directing duties. Zenith handled media placement. sm