Singtel ushers in Chinese New Year with a touch of humour

Singtel has launched its annual short film for Chinese New Year depicting the spirit of making connections and strengthening ties with a touch of humour. Titled "His Grandfather’s Road", which is a phrase commonly used by Singaporeans to describe drivers who behave as if they own the road, the film centres on a road rage altercation between two families.

The film starts off featuring two families caught up in the flurry of visitations on the first day of Chinese New Year, and meeting headlong on a narrow street. Refusing to budge, both families buckle down and pass time by hooking up to their respective mobile devices - streaming video, playing online games and listening to music - in an attempt to wait and wear the other party out. Eventually, the standoff resolves in the two families bonding over a feast complete with traditional lo-hei.

“His Grandfather’s Road” is part of Singtel’s ongoing branded content strategy, centred around short film campaigns in a bid to bring the telco's brand values to life. Conceptualised in-house and produced in collaboration with Akanga Film Asia, the film is currently airing on Singtel TV and various social media channels, and will be featured in cinemas from 16 to 29 January.

Lian Pek, Singtel’s vice president for group strategic communications and brand, said Chinese New Year is the "perfect" occasion to reinforce Singtel’s long-held values of celebrating connections that count. According to Lian Pek, the telco has changed gears this festive season and moved away from its trademark poignant films with emotive storylines, as a light-hearted offering still allows the company to affirm its values of family, community and inclusivity.

"Hence, this simple tale of two feuding families who discover they need to be more expansive and “make the right connections” with each other - the film's tagline. Of course, as a company, we’re very much about providing high quality and reliable connectivity services that cater to our customers’ changing lifestyles and expectations. So that gets a playful plug too. You can be stuck anywhere, but thanks to technology, life goes on!” she added.

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