We created a series of flawless, counterfeit opening titles designed to look like the film was beginning, but instead it told people to turn off their phones.

We chose three genres to imitate.

The first was a thriller, complete with blood red typography, a haunting soundtrack, and mysterious body being buried in torrential rain.

The second was Sci fi, a journey through the vastness of space as it bends and warps into a wormhole that finally reveals itself to be someone’s eye.

The third is an indie comedy, banging indie music accompanies manicured nails, flicking through a vintage book of illustrations.

In all three, the opening titles themselves slowly and comedically introduce the idea before the “movie title” (and the punchline) lands: Turn Off Your Phone.

Telstra, Australia’s largest mobile network, loves people using their mobile phones. Unless those people are at the cinema.

As a sponsor of cinema, Telstra wanted people to switch off their phones and respect the films. The problem is, audiences don’t pay attention to the commercial messages before the movie starts, especially ones from a mobile phone company. The only time we could really get viewers to pay attention was when the movie actually began.

So we used this insight and create something that people would actually pay attention to.

For work that was strategically made to blend in, the series really stood out. So much so that SXSW Sydney rolled them into their own film festival before they rolled out into major cinema chains nation-wide. The results are hard to measure, anecdotal feedback has told us that theatre goers are loving and welcoming these as a novel departure for the brand, and cinema advertising in general.

Cinema advertising in Australia can often be notoriously low budget, and ill-suited to the large screen format, comprising often of commercials and offers and directions to local businesses. Theatre goers have come to expect, ignore and talk through the ‘ads’ before the big budget film trailers start.

Theatre-goers don’t pay attention to the ads before the movie starts, especially ones from a mobile phone company. The only time we could really get viewers to pay attention was when the movie actually begun.

We embraced every part of the cinematic medium – Dolby 3D sound, anamorphic aspect ratio, a few extra frames of black at the beginning, original soundtracks, and Phillip Einstein (one of the biggest title designers around) to pull it off.

Our idea was about capitalising on this insight to create a series of “opening titles” crafted to trick audiences into thinking the movie had begun.