Zoopla Makes Winners of Homebuyers in Sports Inspired Spot

Zoopla, one of the UK’s leading property websites, is launching a new brand platform on Christmas Day, ahead of the busiest time of year for the property market, signifying a huge shift in the company’s brand positioning and creative approach.  

Created in partnership with Lucky Generals, the new brand platform will seek to equip consumers with the tools and insights they need to ‘Win at Moving’, further establishing Zoopla as the crucial partner for home moving. Additionally, the launch campaign celebrates estate agents as the experts, vital in unlocking that next move for Zoopla movers. 

The strategy sees a significant shift in the company’s marketing, with the creative in the launch campaign borrowing heavily from the elite athletic style and emotional impact of sports advertising and its classic instantly recognisable truisms. A bespoke track by YouTooCanWoo was created for the ad, adding to its unique and impactful presentation.

A brand new creative and a brand new TV ad 

Buying and selling a house can sometimes feel like an endurance sport. It tests you in all sorts of ways and every mover is desperate to reach their finish line victorious. Zoopla not only helps movers face the challenge head-on, but it also helps them to ‘Win at Moving’. 

The ad begins with the question, “What makes a winner?" asked by the unmistakable voice of Michael Sheen. "In this arena, winners find an edge..." he continues, as a montage of home buyers and sellers from up and down the UK - shot in the motivational high-energy style of the world of sports advertising - humorously dramatises the endurance challenge that moving home can feel like for so many people.

These include a home buyer in a suburban street contemplating his victory, steely and determined, a man dramatically planting a For Sale sign in his front lawn in slo-mo, and a family excitedly putting their home on the market, in a team huddle with their friends and estate agents - including the 'GOAT' estate agent who wears a sports jacket with 'Completion Queen' emblazoned on the back. And at the end of it all, to an epic crescendo of rousing music and a montage of victorious buyers and sellers, Michael Sheen's rallying cry concludes: "Winners seize the deeds, unlock victory, and show the world that this...", as it cuts back to the man from the start of the ad standing victorious in his dressing gown on the balcony of his new home yelling "...is my house!".

The new TV ads will be played across some of the most highly viewed programmes over the festive period including Christmas films like Home Alone 2, live Premier League fixtures, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year and the Christmas special of The Masked Singer. 

Additionally, the campaign will be live across a variety of digital channels including Amazon Prime, broadcast video on demand, YouTube and social media sites. It will also leverage Zoopla’s partnership with England Cricket which will be ramping up in 2025 and will be visible on high-traffic pages across the Zoopla website and app. 

Rich Hayes, chief operating officer at Zoopla, said, “Moving home isn’t an easy feat for consumers and we wanted to acknowledge this whilst at the same time celebrating the everyday heroes including estate agents who help make it happen. By providing the right tools and insights required to ‘Win at Moving’, we’re firmly establishing ourselves as the crucial moving partner.”

Gareth Morgan, creative director at Lucky Generals, said, “Moving house can feel like an endurance sport at times. It’s pain. It’s suffering. It’s self-doubt. And then just as the finish line comes into view, you hit the wall (the surveyor finds Japanese knotweed). But Zoopla have got all the amazing tools you need to push through the pain barrier, achieve your moving dreams and claim the ultimate prize… a two up, two down with period features and a conservatory.”

Matt Skelding, chief client officer, Zenith, said, “We’re excited that we're launching the next chapter for Zoopla using an approach that's data-driven from the top of the funnel to the bottom of the funnel. We'll be using our Publicis Media ID integrations with media buying platforms to target households and individuals likely to move house within the next year. This approach complements the creative and makes sure Zoopla is unmissable to anybody looking to move within the next 12 months.”