Cambodia's Cellcard aims for hearts with 7-minute film

The seven-minute film, titled 'Toy car' (a three-minute subtitled cut appears above), centres on a boy's good-hearted attempt to help his family's financial woes. He does so by trading a prized toy in order to upgrade the family's cellular service—a critical lifeline to a wealthier family member in a distant city—after his mother admonishes his father for "saving on the wrong things" by going with a cheaper alternative.

As such, the film connects to the brand promise of better connections and reliability. And although it goes in for a hard sell at the end, the performances and film craft make it effective overall.

The seven-minute version aired on television and the brand's social-network channels, YouTube and Facebook, beginning in March. The film resonated with relevance for Cambodia’s majority of low-wage earners, according to the brand. The audience gave it nearly 12,000 likes and 2,800 shares in a span of weeks.

Kenny Lim, the agency’s regional director, said the agency is focused on “creating meaningful conversations for and between Cellcard and its customers, and to mark an evolution in its brand communication.”

Cellcard’s head of marketing, Palani Periakaruppan, said effective collaboration between the brand and the agency is creating "real brand differentiation via innovative creative executions to break through the clutter and drive more brand into customer choice decisions in the Cambodian mobile market.”