This Highland Cow Takes the Ride of Her Life in Virgin Media's WIFI Guarantee Spot

Today, Virgin Media together with VCCP London releases ‘Why walk when you can ride?’ an integrated brand campaign to launch Virgin Media’s WiFi guarantee, demonstrating the internet provider’s commitment to delivering superior connectivity, reliability, and speed. 

The light-hearted and playful campaign will roll out throughout the UK across multiple formats and leads with a hero 60” film, ‘Highland Rider’, directed by award-winning director, Jeff Low and will premiere during the England Women’s international friendly football match against the USA on ITV. Supported by a 30” spot, the film depicts the story of a highland cow who, inspired by epic biking scenes she's seen streamed over Virgin Media WiFi, goes to better and beyond by taking to the tarmac on a motorbike.

The cinematic TVC opens on a close up of a highland cow’s face, with a view of the Scottish Highlands landscape behind. As the iconic backing track from Dirty Dancing ‘She’s Like The Wind’ by Patrick Swayze begins to build, the camera pulls out to reveal an eye catching scene of the cow roaring along on a motorbike as she embarks on her own adventure. The viewer accompanies the ride with her for a while, and then, with the wind in her hair, she races off into the distance. The campaign strapline ‘Why walk when you can ride?’ voiced by celebrated actor, Peter Mullen, brings the film to a close and aims to leave viewers with the feeling of never settling for slow when you can have fast. 

The new strategic and creative platform builds on Virgin Media’s existing market-leading speed credentials and bolsters its position further by highlighting its reliability credentials too thanks to the launch of its new WiFi guarantee – the fastest of any major provider. ‘Why walk when you can ride?’ celebrates 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 their unstoppable spirit.

Thanks to Virgin Media's superior connectivity, anyone - or anything - can be inspired to reach their potential and it is this spirit, and the superior connectivity, that emboldens the film’s Highland Cow to pursue better - leaving the lacklustre behind to go ‘to better and beyond’ - all in an unmistakably Virgin, tongue-in-cheek way.

Virgin Media and VCCP London worked with Emmy and Bafta award-winning Untold Studios to create their leading lady. Built in 3D CGI, the bespoke asset will feature across upcoming brand and trading campaigns until the end of 2022. 

Supporting the 60” and 30” TVCs, ‘Why walk when you can ride? will also go live in OOH solely at The O2 Arena, on display, OVOD, BVOD, retail and across social media.

The campaign demonstrates 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.

Discussing the new campaign, Amy Gilbert, marketing director at Virgin Media O2 said, “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.”

Virgin Media worked with UK agency of record, VCCP London, content production studio Girl&Bear, and VCCP’s Product and Service innovation company, Bernadette, to devise the new campaign. ‘Why walk when you can ride?’ runs from today until late November across TVC, BVOD, display, social, retail, OOH at The O2 and OLV (YouTube). MG OMD handled the media planning and buying for the campaign.