Virgin Media is leveraging rising excitement around next month’s Olympic Games with a new campaign called ‘Be The fastest’ that is built around brand ambassador Usain Bolt’s 100-meter world record time.
The UK telco/TV/web outfit is rolling out a campaign that aims to prove that Bolt’s record breaking 9.58 second 100 meter time can stretch on indefinitely.
Virgin Media, which holds no official IOC or Rio Organising Committee rights, is ambushing the games with a campaign featuring the brand’s long-time endorser and his world record sprint at the 2009 Berlin World Championships.
The initiative, developed by agency BBH London, celebrates Bolt’s stunning spring statistic and highlights the value of pure speed – a benefit linked to Virgin Media’s own broadband service.
The UK campaign, which launched on 6 July, is led by a short film that essentially is edited from 10 separate 9.58-second vignettes – including some funky animated scenes (one sees a school-age Bolt as a video-game character and the other as a comic-book superhero).
Indeed, as the spot says, people want fast broadband connection and it claims that Virgin Media gives them just that.
‘Fast speed is Virgin Media’s competitive edge in technology. Our new ad is about what it feels like to experience speed, at a physical and emotional level.’
By the end of the film Virgin Media’s objective is to have ‘shown what it feels like to be the fastest, not just for Bolt, but how that can be achieved through our VIVID 200Mbps fibre optic broadband’.
The commercial recreates that incredible 9.58 seconds over and over again and with increasing excitement as Academy Films director Seb Edwards constructs the montage out of stock footage and new material and CGI.
The video, which features a voiceover by fellow sprinter Michael Johnson, and it’s very structure is created from segments focused on a different aspect of Bolt’s life and experience.
This campaign from one of the athlete’s longest brand partners aims to ‘lift the lid on the real Bolt’ and spans his preparation, training, diet, childhood, mental strength and his on track performance.
It was also amplified socially with the #BeTheFastest hashtag and emojis,
❤️ Usain Bolt? ❤️ Emojis? You're in luck! Be the first to use our new Usain Bolt emoji, just tweet… #BeTheFastest pic.twitter.com/Vh31HSAiH7
— Virgin Media (@virginmedia) July 6, 2016
including on the athlete’s own social channels to engage his own 4 million Twitter followers.
There’s no one faster than @usainbolt! Experience his world record speed and feel what it’s like to #BeTheFastest https://t.co/qyXs6GVGLV
— Paul Stafford (@PaulJStafford) July 8, 2016
Further campaign strands ranged from print to DOOH.
‘This campaign is about the power and emotion of speed, creating an emotive story around Bolt and our brand,’ outlines Virgin Media chief marketing officer Kerris Bright.
The ad debuted on UK during ITV’s Euro 2016 Portugal v Wales semi final (with ITV social support)
Who caught the @ITV premiere of the brand new @VirginMedia ad starring @usainbolt? #BeTheFastest #PORWAL #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/YYPqZrR8XN
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 6, 2016
and it will also air in cinemas and across various other digital platforms.
Indeed, one fun launch stunt saw Virgin Media sail a 100-meter video screen down the River Thames.
So that really happened! We sailed a 100m screen down the Thames and showed London what it means to #BeTheFastesthttps://t.co/BcB0XYamc2
— Virgin Media (@virginmedia) July 5, 2016
The team’s working for Virgin Media CMO Kerris Bright and head of advertising and sponsorship Ellie Tory Norman was led by a BBH London group that included executive creative director Nick Gill, strategist Alana King, strategy director Elle Graham-Dixon, business lead Zoe Verrion, account manager Graham Moffat, account director Andrew Connolly, chief production officer Davud Karbassioun, creatives Davud Karbassioun, producers Alen Grebovic and Victoria Keenan and assistant producer Sarah Finnigan Walsh.
The BBH print and DOOH team included print producers Lauren Daniels and Simon Taylor, digital producers Charlie Hurlock, Chris Robertson, live creative director Chris Lawson, live creation team members Andrew Stone and Adrian Thomas, live account director Valdemar Domingos and producers Charlie Hurlock and Sarah Finnigan Walsh.
The production company was Academy Films and the spot was directed by Seb Edwards, while the DoP was Alwin Kuchler.
Post production was handled by The Electric Theatre Collective, animation by The Line, editing by Trim Editing, sound by Factory, with music by Arch Birds.
Comment
While it feels like some of the campaign’s creative elements aren’t that original or fresh – such as Bolt’s tough training regimen – others like his joyful dancing really feel fresh and could help it cut through the previous and current Bolt marketing clutter.
The record time, 9.58, has become a number synonymous with the Jamaican athlete (it is even the title of 2010 autobiography) and with this powerful, playful BBH spot the brand hopes the numbers will be further etched into history and consumer mindsets.
But it is hard for any brand to succeed in owning such a famous star sportsman and his record breaking time – even for a brand like Virgin who has partnered with him for many years.
After all, Virgin’s campaign actually rolled out the very same week as Rio Olympic tier one sponsor Nissan Brazil’s Usain fronted ‘Bolt v Fire’ campaign – which also heavily features his world record time (see case study).
The timing certainly neatly leverages the end of the previous big UK sports events Euro 2016 and Wimbledon and the start of the real build up to the next big property – Rio 2016.
Indeed, the Virgin campaign broke just before the BBC launched its own pre-Olympics, excitement generating trailer.
Links
Virgin Media Web:
http://www.virginmedia.com/vivid
Virgin Media Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/virginmedia
Virgin Media Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/virginmedia
#BeTheFastest
Virgin Media YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/virginmedia
Virgin Media Google+:
https://plus.google.com/u/1/+virginmedia/posts
BBH Web:
http://www.bartleboglehegarty.com/
Usain Bolt Twitter:
Usain Bolt Web:
