First there was the ClearNet Frog, and Microcell’s Fido dogs.

Now our TV and computer screens are full of flying Vietnamese pot-
bellied pigs,
courtesy of Telus Corp. What on earth does this menagerie have to do with selling communications products?

Everything, according to
Rick Seifeddine, Montreal-based VP of communications for Telus.
“We needed an image that would work for us, long term, across the country, in French and English, across all demographics. And hey,
animals don’t ask for royalties.”

He notes that when other companies cram information about phone features into their commercials, they just confuse and intimidate consumers. So Telus has adopted the overall theme The Future is Friendly with simple sub-slogans such as Cool Phones That Do More. The animal-based campaign won two prestigious CASSIE awards in 2001.



Coming up with animals to act out cute and cheerful
messages is obviously a passion for Seifeddine. Does he have a favourite?

“I have to admit I’m still partial to the ClearNet frog, since I came along with it when Telus acquired Clearnet (in late 2000). It’s very rare when an acquiring company keeps the brand of an acquiree, but it just made sense here.”

The animal theme has now migrated from Telus Mobility to the whole corporation. Hence we have the bear
swatting away flies that
represent Internet pests such as viruses, worms and spam.

Seifeddine
says they use a
professional animal
wrangler and the animals do all their own stunts, though some computer wizardry is applied later on.

“The piglets are a lot prettier on the screen than they are in real life,” he says. “We remove warts and do a little nip and tuck.”

Sometimes, the beasts steal the show. “We had a monkey drop a banana into a jar, just out of reach,” Seifeddine says. “This inspired the Looking for a Restaurant? commercial.”

Seifeddine revealed a few other tricks including the use of high-speed cameras made for aerial survey work.

“Lizards move pretty fast,” he says, “and one of them stumbled. We caught it on film and set it to Chariots of Fire music.”

The Telus pigs have captured people’s hearts. A family asked for stuffed versions of them
to bury alongside their three-year-old child who died of cancer. A senior citizen’s
residence in Calgary requested pig calendars. Telus granted both requests.

Seifeddine also scrambled to remove a piglet billboard that was accidentally put up in front of a mosque. “I know this affection for the animals is not because people love Telus or its products,” he says,” but just because everybody loves nature in its unaltered state.”

He says the animals never do things that are totally
unbelievable. “The pigs don’t fly,” he notes, “they’re
suspended from balloons. And they’re not hanging on by their little hooves."

But all is not peace and love in the Telus barnyard.

Porcine performers Sparky and Lucy have gotten big and, even in the eyes of Seifeddine, “pretty ugly.” A North America-wide talent hunt is on for their successors. “If we can find a breeder with the right pigs,” says Seifeddine, “we’ll use ’em. If not – we have some other ideas.”

So, the future image of North America’s third-ranked wireless carrier hangs on . . . who’s got some pretty porkers.