Last Christmas we gave you our heart… when we delivered the magical Santa AI for Telstra’s Christmas Campaign.
Last Christmas, Telstra set out to create an interactive and magical Christmas experience, allowing Australian children to speak directly with Santa via one of 15,000 Telstra Phone Boxes across Australia. Partnering with fullstop.ai and Google Cloud, the challenge was not just to make Santa accessible but to ensure that the Generative AI-powered Santa stayed on script and provided a safe, engaging, and heartwarming experience.
We developed a custom voice model for Santa, mapping out Dialogflow intents, and tuning the AI’s responses. This ensured that Santa’s interactions captured the warmth, joy, and wisdom children expect. The application followed our Responsible AI framework and as Michael Bishop, CEO of fullstop.ai, explained, “We wanted to make the interaction feel personal and magical by leveraging generative AI.” With safety in mind, the system adhered to strict privacy standards, making sure every interaction was child-appropriate.
Using Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Telstra, OMD and fullstop.ai incorporated responsible AI filters to keep Santa’s conversations safe and true to the festive spirit. The project also focused on inclusivity, with the AI adapting to children with neurodiverse needs. According to Luke Hopewell from Telstra, “We took extra care to ensure Santa’s AI could cater to all children, allowing them to engage at their own pace”.
By the end of the campaign, Santa AI had successfully held over 500,000 conversations with children across Australia. The collaboration between Telstra, OMD, fullstop.ai, and Google Cloud not only exceeded expectations but also reinforced community safety by teaching children how to use payphones in case of emergencies. This groundbreaking campaign has earned multiple award nominations, including the Australian Marketing Institute’s Awards for Marketing Excellence, the Global Effie Awards and most recently winning the prestigious Grand Prix at the MFA Awards.
We couldn't be prouder of this engaging use of Generative AI, and if you want to learn more about how AI can bring joy to your customer and team members, reach out for a chat.