Orange battles rivals with ad push

Media Guardian

07/02/2007

Orange is launching a £12m TV campaign to promote its mobile and broadband products, a day before Virgin Media unveils its Uma Thurman-fronted ads.

The mobile operator's campaign marks the first time the company has marketed its home broadband and mobile products in one TV commercial to push the idea it is a total communications provider.

Virgin Media is set to unveil its new combined offering - coupling NTL's TV, broadband and fixed-line telephony with Virgin Mobile - in a £20m campaign.

And BSkyB has already launched its first "triple play" advertising under the banner "See, speak, surf".

The first Orange ad is a 60-second brand ad created by Fallon and runs with the strapline "People are good together".

Orange's ad, which breaks tonight, aims to show that the company's products allow people to be in touch wherever they are and whenever they want.

The campaign features a cleverly choreographed series of stunts showing the friends and family of a man appearing and disappearing.

"Our new campaign is all about a simple human need to belong to the various groups of family, friends and interests that make us who we are," said the head of advertising and design at Orange, Rachel Macbeth. "Helping this happen is why we are in business."

The next 20-second ad will promote the popular Orange Wednesdays 2-for-1 cinema ticket promotion, which has been extended under a new deal to also include more than 1 million Orange home broadband customers for the first time.

A third 10-second ad will push Orange's Bonus Top Up service for "pay as you go" customers.

The fourth commercial promotes Orange's "Magic Numbers" service, which allows pay monthly customers to talk to selected friends for free. The TV ads will be supported by outdoor and press advertising, with media planning and buying handled by Initiative.

Digital and interactive ads have been developed by Poke and i-level, with in-store marketing material handled by BD-NTWK.