Exiting agency BBH brings back Bolt with a bang for Virgin Media’s “intelligent WiFi”

Is this Virgin Media’s swan song with BBH and Usain Bolt? The creative account’s off to adam&eveDDB.

BBH and Bolt are going out with a bang with a new ad debuting ‘Intelligent WiFI’ (it fixes itself it seems) which has been block-booked across all ITV channels on Saturday, courtesy of ITV Proudly Presents and media agency of the moment Manning Gottlieb OMD. There’s to be a simulated WiFi issue to panic viewers then up pops Bolt at his secret HQ.

Virgin Media brand director Cilesta Van Doorn says: “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.”

ITV sales director Mark Trinder says: “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.”

Good to see an ad plan with ambition and scale.

We’re a bit tired of Bolt-for-Virgin but it’s a satisfying swan song (we hope.)

MAA creative scale: 8.