Usain Bolt reprises superhero role in last BBH London spot for Virgin Media

BBH London has unveiled its final work for Virgin Media after the two ended their seven-year partnership in February, with adam&eveDDB picking up where it left off. 

The 'Switch to Super' spot continues the portrayal of Usain Bolt as a superhero, and will air simultaneously across all five of ITV's main channels on Saturday evening. 

The ad opens in Bolt's top-secret hideout where the superhero is experiencing a crisis: the Bolt Signal, his favourite gadget, isn't working.

He urgently calls upon a 'Q' like figure to fix the problem. He diagnoses it as an issue with Bolt's internet, which Virgin Media's 'Intelligent WiFi' automatically fixes to save the day. 

When Virgin Media's advertising account went up for review in January, BBH decided not to repitch, which came as a surprise as the partnership was proving to be one of the more enduring brand-agency partnerships in the telecoms space. 

Discussing the latest campaign, 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.”