Superbowl. Superbowl. Superbowl. Superbowl. Superbowl. Yep, everywhere you look it seems our lesser rivals are banging on about it. The last time we checked, we weren’t American and we certainly were not the least bit interested in American Football either.
In fact, as far as we are concerned, the most exciting thing that has ever happened was when Janet Jackson had a wardrobe malfunction. Other than that, as Batman’s nemesis, the Joker, once said, there has been: “Zero, zip, zilch, nada.”
Back in the UK, one of our former adversaries, Virgin Media, has launched its first ad campaign since we decided to switch to BT. Will it make us pine for our old foe?
“We’re better, connected” has been created by Adam & Eve DDB and aims to highlight Virgin Media’s hyperfast network, with gigabit speeds now available to more than 15.5 million homes across the UK.
Designed to celebrate the power of connectivity in bringing new friends together, ‘Skatergirl’ is the story of Aamira, a young skater befriended by a skate crew after a day at the park doesn’t go quite as planned.
After Aamira falls off her skateboard while attempting to “drop in” on a skate bowl, at first she is dejected, but is soon encouraged by a video she is sent by other skaters showing how they often “bail” when performing tricks.
She connects with these new friends both online and in real life, and by the end of the ad, surrounded by her friends, she attempts the trick again; this time, she nails it.
Keen to big up its own credentials, Virgin Media carried out research that found skateboarding communities to be extremely inclusive, connecting people from a range of ages and backgrounds. (Not just sulky teenagers apparently.)
This extends beyond the skateparks and car parks of the UK to online and social media platforms, enabling skateboarders to share their skills with millions of people online. This has helped them connect and engage with a new audience that they otherwise may not have, it says here.
The campaign will also run on digital media, social, outdoor and online video; media was planned and bought by Manning Gottlieb OMD.
And Virgin Media O2 executive director of brand and marketing Simon Groves seems pretty chuffed with the activity.
He said: “Our latest campaign shows just how integral the Internet is in inspiring us, connecting us, and helping us achieve our dreams, no matter what our background. It’s a story about exactly why we’re better, connected. And as the UK’s fastest major broadband provider, Virgin Media provides the very best connectivity experience.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Ironically, if we were still with Virgin Media, we probably wouldn’t have been able to watch this ad as, when we were customers, the broadband was about as reliable as the British weather – and often far more messy. Luckily, our BT broadband does not seem to suffer from the same fate.
In its defence, Virgin Media insists its hyperfast network is 22 times faster than the national average – which is just over 50Mbps – whether it is reliable is another matter.
But back to the ad, which is far better than our Virgin Media experience and is likely to chime with the skateboarding community; it certainly ticks every diversity, equity and inclusion box – and more.
Then again, wild horses couldn’t drag us back. We’d rather watch the Superbowl. Just saying.
Decision Marketing Adometer: A “sadly, we’ve already bailed” 7 out of 10
