TLDR
Telstra has launched 'Happy Internetting', a ten-film brand campaign made by Bear Meets Eagle On Fire that celebrates how Australians use the internet rather than promoting network specs. The push arrives as Telstra sits sixth on Roy Morgan's most-distrusted brands list, making affection a strategic necessity.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
People, not packets
Telstra's new campaign does not mention download speeds once. 'Happy Internetting' is ten 15-second films, each built around a different type of internet user, the hypebeast, the niche hobbyist, the late-night streamer, made by Bear Meets Eagle On Fire in collaboration with illustrator Dave Arcade and VFX and animation studio Mathematic.[1] The films run across out-of-home, social media and retail spaces.[1]
Alita McMenamin, Telstra's Head of Brand and Marketing Communications, said the category has spent years talking to the wrong thing. "In a category focused on speed and data we chose to focus on something completely different," McMenamin said. "People aren't excited about download speeds, they are excited about what they can do online. Happy Internetting shifts the spotlight from technology to the people, celebrating their passions, quirky interests and the communities that make the internet such a fun and important part of daily life."[1]
How the creative was built
Bear Meets Eagle On Fire Chief Creative Officer Micah Walker said the brief was to make the audience feel seen before it felt sold to. "Everyone has their own internetting interests and quirks that make service and performance matter to them," Walker said. "We just wanted to highlight those in a way that felt celebratory, and then offer them deals and upgrades that feel more tailored to those interests."[1]
The campaign carries a product hook alongside the brand story. Eligible customers can access a free nbn fibre upgrade with standard installation at no cost.[2] That offer gives the films a functional anchor, connecting the warmth of the creative to a concrete commercial reason to act.
The trust problem underneath the campaign
Telstra ranked sixth on Roy Morgan's list of most-distrusted brands in Australia in June 2026, slipping two places from the previous survey.[3] For Australia's largest telco, that position sits uncomfortably. Poor brand perception at that scale compounds across every sales conversation, every price increase and every service outage.
The emotion-led approach is a genuine point of difference in a category where rivals compete almost entirely on data prices and speed claims.[4] A brand at sixth on a distrust ranking has limited room to keep fighting on specs; those claims land inside a frame of scepticism already. Celebrating how people live online, rather than asserting how fast Telstra can make it happen, sidesteps that frame entirely.
The campaign launched on 17 September 2026, with all ten films going live across out-of-home, social and retail simultaneously.[4]
SOURCES & CITATIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is Telstra's 'Happy Internetting' campaign?
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What product offer accompanies the campaign?
Xaviery Malinao writes for Prompt the Market on how brands and agencies are adapting to answer engines, drawing on Bushnote's work with clients across search, AI search and content.
