Tune Talk NextGen Challenges Malaysian Students to Create AI-Generated Ads with RM10,000 in Prizes
Tune Talk has launched NextGen, a nationwide youth innovation initiative inviting Malaysian students aged 18 to 25 to create AI-generated advertisements for the brand, with a total prize pool of RM10,000 and the prospect of a six-month internship at the mobile virtual network operator.
TLDR
- Tune Talk NextGen runs from 1 July to 30 November 2026
- Open to Malaysian students aged 18 to 25
- Entries must blend AI-generated elements with a telco angle (data, speed, rewards)
- Grand prize RM5,000; 1st runner-up RM3,000; 2nd runner-up RM2,000
- All three winners get optional 6-month internships at Tune Talk
- Three monthly finalists shortlisted; winners announced November 2026
A Challenge Built for the Generation That Already Uses AI
Tune Talk is positioning NextGen as a deliberate response to a generational shift. “This generation doesn’t just consume content — they create it,” said Gurtaj Singh Padda, Co-founder and CEO of Tune Talk. “Tune Talk NextGen hands them the mic, the canvas, and the AI tools they’re already mastering. We want to see Tune Talk through their eyes and in their voice — and along the way, discover real talent and give young Malaysians a genuine platform to be seen.”
The campaign is unapologetically digital-first and social-first. There is no lengthy brief, no agency middleman, and no minimum production budget. Students are asked to create either a short video (under 60 seconds) or a static visual that blends AI-generated elements — visual, script, or voice — with a telco angle such as data, speed, or rewards. Entries are submitted by posting to Instagram, tagging @TuneTalk, and using both #TuneTalk and #TuneTalkNextGen.
To broaden the funnel, Tune Talk is also taking the challenge directly to students through a nationwide university roadshow, where participants can create and submit on the spot. That combination — at-your-desk convenience plus in-person activation — is a sensible way to reach a cohort that is both digitally native and notoriously hard to engage through traditional advertising channels.
RM10,000 in Cash and a Foot in the Door
The prize structure is straightforward: three winners share RM10,000, with RM5,000 going to the grand prize winner, RM3,000 to the first runner-up and RM2,000 to the second runner-up. More importantly, all three winners will be offered an optional six-month internship with Tune Talk — turning a viral content moment into a potential career on-ramp.
The judging cadence is built around monthly shortlists. At the end of each month, three finalists will be shortlisted and contacted via Instagram DM. Shortlisted participants then have seven working days to submit a valid Student ID, IC copy and signed Consent Form to verify eligibility. A Tune Talk panel will pick the winners using a creativity-based judging framework, with the final results announced in November 2026.
Why a Telco Is Running a Creator Brief
On the surface, a mobile network operator running an AI-creative challenge looks unusual. In practice, it makes strategic sense for a digital-first MVNO that competes on price, data allowances and rewards rather than retail footprint or legacy 3G-era brand equity. Tune Talk needs to be culturally fluent with the cohort that is about to enter its first postpaid contract, and the cheapest way to do that is to let that cohort write the brand’s creative language for it.
The internship pathway also turns the campaign into a soft-recruitment funnel. The students who win are pre-vetted for creativity, brand fit, and the ability to ship under deadline — exactly the profile a fast-growing digital telco wants on its roster. If even one of the three interns converts into a full-time hire, the campaign has paid for itself several times over.
Our Take
Tune Talk NextGen is one of the better-targeted brand-building plays we have seen from a Malaysian telco this year. It is cheap to run, native to the platform it lives on, and rewards the behaviour the brand actually wants more of — student-led creative output rather than paid media impressions. The RM10,000 prize pool is modest by industry standards, but paired with a six-month internship it is enough to attract serious submissions from the right talent pool.
The risk is that the judging framework leans too heavily on production polish rather than raw creative thinking, in which case the campaign will reward students with the best laptops and editing suites rather than the best ideas. If Tune Talk keeps the lens firmly on creativity — and lets the AI do the heavy lifting on visuals — the shortlist in November could surface genuinely surprising work. That would be a stronger story for Tune Talk than another agency-shot hero film.
