New Virgin Media advert to be shown simultaneously across all ITV channels this weekend

New Virgin Media advert to be shown simultaneously across all ITV channels this weekend

Virgin Media’s latest advert for its “Switch to Super” campaign will air simultaneously across all five of ITV’s main channels on Saturday evening as part of Proudly Presents – a first for the broadcaster.

The new advert, which continues the portrayal of Usain Bolt as a superhero and is the first to focus on Virgin Media’s recently announced Intelligent WiFi service for its customers, will get its UK TV premiere as part of ITV’s Proudly Presents initiative, with the new advert launched with a bespoke and innovative introduction.

At 20:30 on Saturday, millions of TV viewers watching any of ITV’s five main channels (ITV main channel, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and ITVBe) as well as UTV and STV, will experience a short spoof takeover of their TV due to a simulated ‘WiFi issue’ which will then be followed by Virgin Media’s new 60 second advert.

This is the first time that ITV’s Proudly Presents has roadblocked a single advert across all of its channels at the same time. Previously the Proudly Presents format has been reserved for a single channel delivery.

The advert itself – created by BBH London – will show SuperBolt at his top-secret hideout experiencing a crisis as one of his favourite gadgets, his Bolt Signal, isn’t working. This is due to problematic WiFi but Virgin Media’s Intelligent WiFi saves the day by automatically fixing his WiFi issues for him.

For the first time, Virgin Media’s advert will have audio description enabled. This is part of its continued commitment to transform the experience of disabled people.

After the premiere of the advert on ITV, Virgin Media’s Switch to Super campaign will continue to feature across TV channels for eight weeks. This will be supported by a wider marketing campaign across print, radio and digital platforms as well as Virgin Media’s social media channels.

Cilesta Van Doorn, Brand Director at Virgin Media, said: “This is a significant moment for Virgin Media as our amazing new SuperBolt advert features across all of ITV’s main channels simultaneously for the first time as part of Proudly Presents. The ad is the next chapter in SuperBolt’s journey and sees him struck by connectivity conundrums before our Intelligent WiFi steps in and saves the day – just like it will for our customers.”

Mark Trinder, Sales Director, ITV said: “Our Proudly Presents format gives brands an attention grabbing introduction and has been used to launch some of the biggest advertising campaigns of recent years. But, this is the first time we have run such a partnership across the ITV family of channels. The creative execution, which highlights Virgin Media's Intelligent WiFi, naturally lends itself to a roadblock moment and relies on each individual ITV channel personality. It’s a great example of how ITV can deliver real standout and context for brands.”

The full TV advert can be viewed here > https://youtu.be/fSOfsC2lTHE

Notes to eds

Virgin Media Brand Director: Cilesta Van Doorn

Virgin Media Head of Advertising: Amy Gilbert
Virgin Media Senior Campaign Manager: Lawrence Hamilton
Virgin Media Campaign Manager: Tony Hyde
BBH Creative Team: Ray Chan & Simon Cenamor

Client name and title: Virgin Media

BBH Creative Team: Marc Rayson and Callum Prior

BBH Creative Director: Adam Noel

BBH Strategy Director: Ed Kurland

BBH Strategist: Stefano Oransky

BBH Business Lead: Holly Ripper

BBH Account Director: Matt Sims

BBH Account Manager: Francesca Orkisz


Film Credits

BBH Producer: Nicole Southey

BBH Assistant Producer: Kurtison Bailey

Production Company: Caviar

Director: Jake Szymanski

Executive Producer: Neil Cray

Producer: Ellie Goodwin

DoP: Dan Bronks

Post Production: The Mill

Editor/Editing House:

Sound: String & Tins

Lead Music Supervisor: Mike Bamford



Music Supervisor: Mike Bamford

Orchestra: Prague Orchestra Philharmonic


Print Credits

BBH Producer: Pippa White

BBH Assistant Producer: Mercedes Januszczak

Photographer: David Clerihew

POst Production: Wellcom London

Illustrator: N/A

About Virgin Media

Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline.

Our dedicated, ultrafast network delivers the fastest widely-available broadband speeds to homes and businesses and we’re expanding this through our Project Lightning programme, which could extend our network to up to 17 million premises.

Our interactive Virgin TV service brings live TV, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games to customers through a set-top box, as well as on-the-go through tablets and smartphones.

Virgin Mobile launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and offers fantastic value and innovative services with 4G connectivity. We are also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland.

Through Virgin Media Business we support entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector, delivering the fastest widely available broadband speeds and tailor-made services.

Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international TV and broadband company. Liberty Global connects 21 million customers through operations in 10 countries across Europe subscribing to 45 million TV, broadband internet and telephony services. It also serves 6 million mobile subscribers and offers WiFi service through 12 million access points across its footprint.