Sing for your loved ones with Western Union

The platform will allow consumers to create and send personalised music videos, along with money.

The Western Union Company, a financial services and communications outfit, has revived the singing telegram concept through Western Union Singing Telegram, a new interactive online platform that allows consumers to create personalised music videos and virtual duets with international and Bollywood artists such as Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, Sunidhi Chauhan, and K'naan. Western Union had first introduced singing telegrams to the world on July 27, 1933. The concept involved the messenger who delivered a musical message to the recipient of the money.

The interactive online platform,
www.wu-singingtelegram.com
, enables consumers to perform virtually with a recording artist to create a digital singing telegram, and then send its video to friends and family via social networks. To create a singing telegram, users have to upload their photo. They also choose an artist and the song to sing along with the performer, using lyrics streaming on the screen.

Users can then review and watch their digitised performance with their face and voice, and then send the personalised duet to family, loved ones and friends.

Commenting on the launch, Diane Scott, chief marketing officer and president, Western Union Ventures, says, "The Western Union Singing Telegram service is a natural fit for us to help consumers around the world to virtually connect with their family and friends, giving them the gift of music, personal image, and voice, and make their day more pleasant."

The creative concept of the singing telegram was developed by 180 Amsterdam, which is part of the 180 division of the Omnicom Group. It is the global creative agency of record for Western Union.