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By Shawn Lim, Reporter, Asia Pacific

December 4, 2020 | 3 min read

You may not be anywhere near the office water cooler right now, but we still want to spotlight the most talked about creative from the brands that should be on your radar. Today, we’re talking about Singtel’s Christmas advert with a different take.

The Singapore-based telco has shifted from its usual emotional storytelling videos for its annual Christmas videos for 2020. Instead of buskers dressed as Santa Clauses and errant teenagers, this year the telco is showcasing how it is helping senior citizens make sense of the digital world.

Three seniors are featured in the video, namely Aunty Lilian, Aunty Shirley and Uncle Andrew, and they explain how Singtel has helped them stay in touch with their friends and families during the Covid-19 lockdown in Singapore, known officially as ‘Circuit Breaker’.

Aunty Lilian is taught how to record herself singing, which is her favourite pastime and Uncle Andrew is shown how to create Zoom video calls. Meanwhile, Aunty Shirley is given a crash course on the TraceTogether app, Singapore’s primary method for contact tracing which relies on people scanning QR codes before entering any establishment.

“It’s been a tough year for everyone, but the elderly are one of the more vulnerable groups affected by the pandemic. While most of us can easily access the plethora of online channels and apps for communication and entertainment, the older generation may not have the requisite digital skills to do so,” said says Lian Pek, the vice president of Group Strategic Communications and Brand at Singtel.

"This is what we are trying to address through our digitalisation initiative. It was heartening to see the transformation of our three seniors as we were documenting their learning journey. They began to feel more empowered and less displaced by technology as they learned to re-connect digitally and get the support they needed during this trying period. This film pays tribute to their optimism and can-do spirit.”

Jeannie Ho, head of NTUC Health's Senior Cluster Network said she was very heartened to see many seniors from its Senior Activity Centres excitedly pick up new skills in the past month, as they realise that going digital is not as difficult as they imagined.

“This programme and the digital workshops by Singtel have greatly empowered seniors to become so much more comfortable with using technology, enabling them to remain connected with their friends and loved ones amidst the pandemic and especially during the festive season,” she explained.

The six-minute film will run on Singtel TV and social media from 3 to 25 December 2020.

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