Telstra Continues 'Together is for Christmas' with Animated Ghost Story

Australian telco Telstra looks beyond festive clichés in its new 2025 Christmas spot, which tells the unexpected story of an unlikely friendship between a girl and a ghost.

Developed by Bear Meets Eagle On Fire and +61, ‘Together is for Christmas’ is Revolver director Steve Rogers’ first-ever animated project, in partnership with award-winning animation company Mathematic.

Speaking to LBB, Bear Meets Eagle On Fire CCO Micah Walker said the story of two “ill-fitting souls who find each other when it matters most” has “genuine Christmas spirit” without the “crutches”.

“We wanted to tell a different story about togetherness and connection without repeating ourselves,” Micah said.

“We’re always trying to find a story that has a genuine Christmas spirit without leaning on all the expected crutches. We thought it’d be interesting to see if that was possible with characters who weren’t naturally Christmassy.”

The spot builds on the brand’s existing Effie and Cannes-winning positioning, ‘Together is for Christmas’, both of which Micah believes focus on what’s important at this time of year -- “finding your people”.

“They share a spirit of connection, and they both build off [of] the same thought,” Micah continued.

“They’re also both quite Australian without holding up a mirror, which was very intentional; to create something familiar and nostalgic without being too blunt or cliché.

“Massive thanks to Steve, Revolver, and the Mathematic team who’ve put so much into the beautiful film.”

Telstra’s head of brand communications, Alita McMenamin, agreed the film, at its heart, is about connection.

“The kind that transcends distance, differences, and even tradition,” Alita said.

“It’s about finding your people, whoever and wherever they are, and celebrating the joy of being together. And as a ’90s music lover, the track works so perfectly with the gorgeous story.”

The accompanying music track ‘Tonight, Tonight’ by the Smashing Pumpkins, isn’t just for 90s music lovers either, Micah added, noting the spot needed to feature music that felt “familiar but unexpected”.

“We might’ve tried more tracks on this than just about anything I’ve ever worked on,” he said.

“There were a few we liked, but this felt like it balanced that teen frustration and the nostalgic nuance we wanted. It also fits with the arc of the story, structurally. That was where a lot of other options fell down.”

​Hanne Haugen, business lead at Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, added, “The story of connection rings especially true at Christmas, and it underpins the season for Telstra. What a privilege to work with such a talented team to bring it to life”.

The work marks Steve Rogers’ first foray into animation, having earlier this year been recognised at the AWARD Awards as the best individual director of the year -- on the same night Telstra and Brent Smart were named Marketing Team and CMO of the Year.

“So many things are possible in animation,” Michah said.

“Steve was really committed to finding a way to marry what he loves about cinema and light, and realism to the animated world. There were a lot of back-and-forth discussions and Steve combined some of his film production team -- set designer, cinematographer -- with Mathematic’s animation team to help us land somewhere unique.

"It was exactly this collaboration that helped the teams deliver something which felt “fresh and right for the story.”

Extending into Telstra’s stores, the multi-channel campaign is bringing the brand’s ambition to life through imaginative retail experiences and customer giveaways, as well as limited edition Christmas baubles, cookie cutters, and pins.

The spot continues Telstra’s recent slew of diverse, animated creative, including most notably last year’s Cannes Film Craft Grand Prix-winning ‘Better on a Better Mobile Network’.

More recently, the brand ventured into stop-motion again for ‘Together Builds Better', to launch a new creative direction for Telstra's Enterprise division.

Earlier this year, Telstra launched ‘Scammageddon’, a high-concept sci-fi spot starring Steve Buscemi in a series of TVCs directed by Randy Krallman. In October, Telstra officially launched its in-house agency Roam, featuring an animated mascot ‘Roamy’.