Bolt and Branson back to push Virgin Media’s “ultrafast” broadband
Virgin Media is launching a new marketing campaign featuring brand ambassador Usain Bolt and Sir Richard Branson to promote its new “ultrafast” broadband which it claims is up to 19 times faster than regular broadband.
By Sarah Vizard
Video: Bolt and Branson back to push Virgin Media’s ultrafast broadband
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The TV ad, which launches on Saturday (1 March) on ITV, opens with the Bolt family at home on the web before Branson arrives in a rocket ship to boost the speed of their home broadband. The campaign, created by BBH, will also feature outdoor ads and online activity.
The campaign will support the launch of Virgin Media’s new 152Mb top speed for its broadband. The firm is also offering customers the chance to boost their speeds, with entry-level customers now offered 50Mb, a speed the company claims is five times faster than regular broadband from Sky and BT.
Virgin Media is also launching new parental controls and an advice centre for families so they can “get the most” out of their web browsing. The company says the service and increased speeds are needed as consumer demand for internet access continues to grow.
Virgin Media claims that peak internet use among its customers has grown 55 per cent in the past year and by almost 1,000 per cent since 2007. The UK government is trying to broaden internet access among UK households, with culture secretary Maria Miller calling the updates from Virgin Media “great news” for families.
Richard Larcombe, brand and marketing director at Virgin Media, says: “At Virgin Media, we like to stay a step ahead so we’re upgrading out network yet again. As consumer demand for everything the web has to offer grows exponentially, we’re giving our customers all the power they need, thanks to Richard Branson and some supercharged rocket fuel.”
Bolt signed up with Virgin Media in 2012, with the firm crediting ad campaigns featuring the runner for boosts to its revenues. It has since added athletes Mo Farah and Christine Ohuruogu as brand ambassadors.
The Virgin Media brand was sold to US cable company Liberty Global in a deal worth almost £15bn in January last year.
