Singaporean telco Circles.Life, which launched in Australia last September, has published a ‘breakup letter’ in The Courier Mail, highlighting the “toxic” relationship some Australians have with their telcos.

The unbranded letter, from heartbroken Charlotte, is addressed to former partner ‘T’.

“So yes, honey, I’m breaking up with you. Over. This. Ad. Thank you, next. Charlotte,” the ad reads.

And the stunt appears to have duped at least one reader.

Is this the new way of breaking up in Australia? I hope I never need to do this! Some Charlotte from Brisbane bought an adspace in The Courier Mail to break up…THAT'S SUPER INTENSE. pic.twitter.com/IFH0Etzgde — ?SnowFlakes?{99 Tweet} (@iannmariedejuan) February 26, 2020

After causing some confusion, Circles.Life published its response to the breakup letter in the same paper today.

Circles.Life head of marketing Delbert Ty explained the logic behind the publicity stunt.

“We’ve had bad experiences with telcos for so long that many of us feel resigned to the fact that being with a telco means dealing with the terrible service and poor customer experience,” said Ty.

“We wanted to show Australians that it’s as toxic as a relationship and nudge them into taking the step towards being with a telco that will never let you down.”

As part of its launch strategy, Circles.Life is attempting to lure users from telco rivals Telstra and Vodafone by offering a special deal.