Hyped

Today, Virgin Media releases ‘Hyped’ a multi-million pound integrated brand campaign to celebrate Virgin Media’s new entertainment service, Stream. Running throughout the UK for 8 weeks across multiple touchpoints, the bold and attention-grabbing campaign further demonstrates Virgin Media’s commitment to being ‘Better, connected’ by giving customers more flexibility, control and great value on their entertainment.

Stream, the latest offering in Virgin Media’s TV line-up, seamlessly combines the most-loved TV channels with on-demand apps, popular streaming subscriptions and must-watch movies, offering customers a new way to enjoy their favourite entertainment all in one place, and at great value, via a small plug-and-play box powered entirely by Virgin Media’s superior broadband.

‘Hyped’ will appear across multiple formats and leads with a hero 60” spot which will premiere during Coronation Street on ITV and Channel 4’s Celebrity Pride Gogglebox. The TVC opens on a couple being disturbed when their TV starts talking to them. Voiced by British Garage icon, MC Neat, the TV announces ‘Listen, this is your TV speaking!’ Viewers are then taken on a journey as hyped TVs around the country disrupt their owners' viewing experience to tell them about the benefits of Stream. In blocks of flats, houses and high street shops, people react as their TVs burst into life as an eye-catching and bold mouth takes over their screens. A man in a bath sits up and takes notice, while a stunned couple are rooted to the spot in their local chippy. As the track builds, the TVs energetically rap about the many benefits of Stream. The iconic Virgin Media red provides a background for the mouths as they morph into different textures and colours. The film concludes with the line ‘The future of viewing is here, the future of viewing is Stream’. Bespoke 20” edits of the film will run across TV, OVOD and BVOD and have been created to target customers with interests in music, gaming and entertainment, as well as families.

Centred around the real experts of entertainment - TVs - Virgin Media and VCCP London worked with partners Electric Theatre Collective, Jungle, Soho Music and Duffy Sound, as well as celebrated director Rollo Jackson from Somesuch to bring the disruptive and attention-grabbing creative to life. Virgin Media also partnered with MC Neat to co-create the bespoke rap, with the Garage artist directly inspiring the mouth which was then created using CGI.

As a fully-integrated campaign, Stream will roll out across VOD, OLV, social, digital display and retail, including digital screens. With disruption at the core of the advert and proposition, Virgin Media has utilised a range of innovative and disruptive media buys to ensure the campaign has multiple consumer touch points and maximum awareness and impact. 5” blipverts will interrupt ad breaks, saying ‘I’ve seen the future of viewing for you’. In a Virgin Media first, the entertainment provider will be hijacking Domino’s commercials, so the Hyped mouth can tell viewers about Stream from Virgin Media. Across social, MG OMD has planned for ads to be intercepted on YouTube with contextually relevant messaging, choosing passion points relevant for our audience and pre-rolls against YouTube content for Gaming, Music and Entertainment and the creative will unexpectedly reference the nature of the content the viewer is about to watch.