You want to watch it again, yes? 60-seconds of a cow riding a motorbike may well be the most entertaining commercial you watch this year. It may also be the most emotive – that Easy Rider feel, the wind blowing through his fur, the Dirty Dancing track, She’s Like The Wind, by Patrick Swayze. These very memorable 60-seconds were brought to you by VCCP London for Virgin Media. And yes, they’re connected to message. It’s Why walk when you can ride? In other words, never settle for slow when you can have fast. The freewheeling cow introduces Virgin Media’s WiFi guarantee (superior connectivity) meaning that Virgin Media customers can stream YouTube content, for example, with the promise of 20Mbps in every room or get money back.
The hero film, Highland Rider, leads a campaign that will run throughout the UK in OOH at The O2 Arena, on display, OVOD, BVOD, retail and across social media. It was directed by Jeff Low and will premiere during the England Women’s international friendly football match against the USA on ITV. The Easy Rider highland cow was created by Emmy Untold Studios in 3D CGI, and will feature across upcoming brand and trading campaigns until the end of 2022. Content production studio, Girl&Bear, and VCCP’s product and service innovation company, Bernadette, were also part of the team.
Why walk when you can ride? underlines Virgin Media’s promise to never stop in the quest to make things better for its customers, to challenge the status quo, and nods to its unstoppable spirit. The campaign is a change of creative direction for Virgin Media, from speed leadership to superior connectivity more broadly through brand swagger, attitude, and a little dose of fun.
Amy Gilbert, marketing director at Virgin Media O2, commented, “The Virgin Media brand is rooted in unstoppable spirit and a desire to continually push boundaries to offer our customers more. From our unrivalled broadband speeds to our market leading WiFi guarantee, the purpose of our new campaign is to bring to life the superior connectivity we offer customers, with a bit of Virgin Swagger.”
David Masterman, deputy executive creative director at VCCP London, added, “This new campaign reinjects Virgin Media with its iconic attitude. Showing how we enable our customers to go to better and beyond, embodied by a highland cow on a Triumph Bonneville.”
Credits
Client: Virgin Media
Advertising Agency: VCCP
Executive Creative Directors: Jonathan Parker & Chris Birch
Deputy Executive Creative Director: David Masterman
Senior Creatives: Jason Keet & James Hodson
Senior Social Creative: Geneva Stanton
Managing Partner: Emma Whitmarsh
Business Director: Sonia Gilchrist
Senior Account Director: Allana Isaacs
Account Director: Max Glanvill
Account Managers: Jessica Stachera & Fionn O’doherty
Deputy Head Of Planning: Jenny Nichols
Senior Planner: Gemma Smyth
Senior Social Planner: Camila Toro
TV Producer: Ed Mueller
Creative Producer: Charlotte Mccluskey
Design Director: Tom Loach
Senior Designer: Rohit Sharma
Deputy Head Of Studio: Scott Mitchell
Assistant Studio Manager: Thomas Whetnall
Artworker: Lee Forster
Digital Producer: Francesco Segramora
Digital Creative Director: Jon Bancroft
Senior Digital Designer: Martin Pavlica
Digital Designer: Ivan Huri
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Jeff Low
Producer: Kwok Lau
Managing Director & Executive Producer: Rupert Reynolds-Maclean
Production Manager: Matt Cummins
Production Designer: Dave Arrowsmith
DoP: Marc Gomez Del Moral
Editor: Saam Hodivala @ Shiftpost
Post-Production Company: Untold Studios
Creative Director: Ben Cronin
VFX Supervisors: Amir Bazazi & Alex Kulikov
VFX Animation Lead: Suvi Jokiniemi
Character Supervisor: Chloe Dawe
Executive Producer: Ian Berry
Producer: George Reid
Colourist: Julien Alary
Head of Animation: Tim Van Hussen
Shoot Attendants: Martino Madeddu & Ben Cronin
VFX Lead: Sebastian Caldwell
VFX Artists: Manon Cauzid, Natasha Santiparp, Grace Davison, Komel Makarowicz, Clara
Malleviale, Phillippe Moine, Harry Mccusker-Bland, Georgios Kyparissous, Anand
Balasubramanian, Lynn Dekker, Michael Korniltsev, Fleicia Petersen, George Rockliffe
Sound Studio: Wave Studios
Sound Engineer: Parv Thind
Producer: Beth Tomblin
Music Supervision: Soho Music
Voice Casting: Bourne Consultancy
Media Buying Agency: MG OMD
Executive Director: Paula Mankelow
Business Director: Spencer Corrigan
Account Director: Sam Nambiar
Digital Account Manager: Ben Powell
Digital Senior Client Executive: Miranda Roberts
Account Executive: James Cameron
