LONDON, UK – Virgin Media has partnered with some amazing brands and providers to celebrate and reward its customers this Christmas with 25 days of giveaways and prizes worth thousands of pounds. In addition, Santa is also in on the act to deliver a “connected” Christmas, as Virgin Media takes his grotto “virtual”.
Fronted by Big Zuu, Grime MC and TV cook, the integrated ‘Let’s do Christmas” digital campaign – created by RAPP UK – has been designed to boost spirits and get customers feeling festive with ’25 show-stopping giveaways’ available exclusively for Virgin Media and Mobile customers daily, between the 1st and 25th December.
The creative backdrop to the campaign is a panto-style fairy tale – oh yes it is! – and Virgin Media has employed a dozen actors, all currently looking for work, to feature as characters in a story which sees the Wicked Queen hide all of the amazing gifts on offer to Virgin Media customers. The hero, Big Zuu, ably assisted by his sidekick Virgin Media engineer Lauren Jewell and her trusty van, is on a mission to rescue Christmas and get the gifts back for customers to enjoy.
The incredible line up of prizes on offer are worth thousands of pounds and include a year’s worth of Virgin Wines cases, weekend stays in a luxury lodge (with a hot-tub of course!), on a houseboat and a camper van for your own 7 day trip, pampering at a luxury spa, top end smartphones and even a Winter Wonderland experience built in your back garden!
On Christmas Day itself, one lucky winner will get the ultimate prize of a staycation in a castle with their family and friends so they can kick back, relax and live out their very own episode of The Crown!
Virgin Media and Virgin Mobile customers will receive a daily email, offering the chance to enter the “25 show-stopping giveaways” competition. The wider digital campaign will also feature across Virgin Media’s TV and social media platforms giving customers the chance to enter and win big this Christmas.
Charity Partnerships:
To spread the Christmas love far and wide, we’re giving £1,000 to hard-working Big Issue vendors in your community – giving them a hand up after their hardest ever year. Each vendor will be chosen by The Big Issue team and will be local to that winning customer.
An additional campaign partnership, with Scope, will see a number of disabled children get exclusive access to Santa himself through the virtual grotto that Virgin Media has created to help Santa get on board with Christmas – 2020 style! The grotto will be open for three weekends in December and is available free to Virgin Media customers through a ballot system. Read more about Santa here.
Adam Rolfe, Creative Director of RAPP said, “It’s been a really tough year for everyone, and our brief was to help Virgin Media customers stay connected more than ever with friends, family and their wider communities. What better way than a panto? With so many performances called off, we couldn’t let the curtain fall on this great British tradition that brings so many of us together at Christmas. Rescuing a long-loved Christmas staple and packing it with show stopping gifts, magical entertainment and acts of seasonal goodwill… it’s just what everyone needed to end the year on a high and stay connected in these challenging times.”
Cilesta Van Doorn, Executive Director of Brand and Marketing at Virgin Media, said “Christmas is all about giving and this year we wanted to give even more to help offset what has been a particularly tough year for all. One of the best things to have come out of 2020 is a sense of community and taking care of others who find themselves more vulnerable than ever. That’s why I’m thrilled that we have been able to support some of those vendors at the Big Issue who have been hugely affected by the lack of passers-by they’d usually see on streets across the country. And likewise, working with SCOPE to ensure that some children who may not have done otherwise, will get the opportunity to meet Santa as he too complies with the new rules this year.”
For more information on the ‘25 show-stopping giveaways’ competition, click here: virginmedia.com/virgin-tv-edit/tips-and-tricks/virgin-media-christmas-prize-draw.
The track is available via Spotify and Apple Music from Thursday 26th November: ffm.to/bigzuugreattoberemix.
Credits
Client – Virgin Media:
Hannah Shepherd, Head of Customer Marketing
Bijal Parmer, Senior Marketing Manager
Amanda Jones, Campaign Manager
Maya Lekkas, Campaign Manager
Matt Hill, Creative Director
Mark Potts, Creative Director
Stephanie Jones, Senior Creative Manager
Strategy -RAPP UK:
Creative – The RAPP Team
Client Leadership – The RAPP Team
Strategy – The Rapp Team
Data Strategy – The RAPP Team
Production – LINNEY:
Lindsey Palmer, Producer
Gareth Harbuz, Head of 3D and Motion Design
Marcus Liversedge, Director
Matt Glen, Director of Photography
Matt Dean, Camera
Andy Stocks, Still Photography
Event Production Santa’s Grotto – Destin8:
Claire Smith, Director and Event Producer
