Watch the Optus TV ad – There's always a way

Optus is proud to debut its latest TV ad – and if you're keen to find out more, we're here with the full 90 second version, along with some of the thinking that went into it.

Watch the Optus ad on YouTube.

The Optus advert tells the story of an under 15s basketball team who end up being led by an unlikely and charismatic volunteer coach – a five foot one Italian Nonna. We believe she represents grit and determination, embodying the can-do spirit that defines Australians, which we're wrapping up under 'There's always a way'.

With Optus enabling her to overcome obstacles and to move forward with confidence, her story becomes a powerful expression of the role our brand plays in people's lives: helping Australians find a way forward, no matter the challenge.

The ad was produced by Droga5 and directed by Steve Ayson.

"Giovanna [the actor who plays Nonna] has a natural confidence and charisma that makes her someone you instantly want to cheer on and support. She isn’t someone you feel sorry for, rather someone you aspire to be when you’re approaching 80. She also has a lot of the physical traits we were looking for. We wanted her challenge to be a significant one. Battling an age, knowledge, height and language gap and Giovanna had all of these qualities," the Droga5 team said.

'While we aren’t all 80-year-olds taking on a basketball coaching role, we can all relate to a personal challenge that seems insurmountable at first. The fact that this story also fed into our NBL partnership was a nice bow that tied everything up well, but was by no means the starting point. Rather the question was how best do we land the line and belief that when Aussies are supported by a great network, There’s always a way."

You'll be seeing Nonna popping up all over Australia – on billboards, ads around major cities, and even online as we paint the nation teal. We love the uplifting message this story carries, and we think you'll love it too.

There's always a way

At Optus, we believe with a little help, There's always a way. A way to stay in touch with loved ones, keep on top of life's demands and get the most out of every day.

That's what is at the heart of our new ad. We're celebrating the can-do spirit of Australians and enabling Aussies to make things happen.

But it's not just about the campaign. We want to deliver the best experience we can for our customers.

We're focusing on improving the performance of our network, which has been recognised as Australia's fastest for 5G downloads by Opensignal^{(1, 2)}. We're also providing better connectivity for more communities, by rolling out fast 5G in more places⁽¹⁾ with plans for 2,444 additional network towers across regional Australia by 2030.

Beyond speed and connectivity, we want Australians to get support when they need it. Human tech support is available online with Optus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and phone support for all customer issues is available between 9am and 5pm every day (Sydney time).

Smart scam protection is also a priority, and we've blocked over 890 million scam calls and texts since 2020, with a team of experts working to protect our customers every day.

When something matters, Australians find a way. And every day, Optus is working to help Aussies make things happen.

There's always a way was created in partnership with Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song, for Optus.

The campaign was directed by Steve Ayson and brought to life by 3&7 and ARC.

Optus acknowledges the many talented people across Optus and our agency partners who contributed to the campaign.

Disclaimers:

1. _{5G available in selected areas with a compatible device and plan. Check website for coverage.}
2. _{Opensignal Awards – Australia: Mobile Network Experience Report May 2026}