Sky Plus lines up British stars to front major push

BSkyB is launching a celebrityfronted advertising blitz to celebrate its digital TV recorder Sky Plus.

Michael%20Parkinson%2C%20Sky%20advertBSkyB is launching a celebrity-fronted advertising blitz to celebrate its digital TV recorder Sky Plus.

It is the biggest campaign for the service and will promote the fact it has grown by word of mouth over the past ten years.

The TV campaign, which has been created by WCRS and breaks on Friday, will star Felicity Kendal, Ross Kemp and Michael Parkinson talking about how Sky Plus has changed their lives.

In a departure for the satellite broadcaster, the three executions have been shot in a documentary style by filmmaker Nick Broomfield. It will use the “Believe in Better” strapline, which was introduced last year (MW September 12, 2007), and is to be supported by an outdoor, print and online campaign.

The push comes as competition for digital viewers increases with launches such as the BBC/ITV joint venture Freesat, which launched last week. It also follows a major campaign by Virgin Media for its on-demand television services fronted by Hollywood actor Samuel L Jackson.

A Sky spokesman says the work is based around the theme of “advocacy” – how Sky Plus’s popularity has grown from launch in 2001 to 3.4 million customers, primarily through word of mouth.