Freeview Shows Itself As The Smarter Way

Freeview, the UK’s biggest digital television provider, launches a new marketing campaign that will prompt consumers to question whether they are paying more than they need to watch their favourite TV programmes.

 

Recent Freeview research has shown that whilst paying a seemingly small monthly fee for hundreds of TV channels as part of a bundle deal may seem appealing, the reality is that the vast majority of people are paying for channels they are unlikely to watch. Households are spending, on average, £199.32 a year on unwatched pay TV channels and 75% of their viewing hours are spent watching free-to-air channelsi.

 

 

The new ad, created by Leo Burnett, first airs on Friday February 22nd and points out that Freeview provides over 95 per cent of the most-watched programmes in the UK[i], completely free from subscriptions.

 

Continuing the theme from earlier campaigns, red and white helium balloons are used to represent the depth of programming available on Freeview including Masterchef and The Apprentice, as well as Big Brother and The Cube. During the ad, the red balloons break off to symbolise the large proportion of the UK’s most watched programmes.

 

The 30-second film, follows the balloons on their journey around a city - from high-rise flats and cafes to the parks and family homes of the outskirts. Finally the balloons reach their destination at a house in the suburbs. As soon as they have floated through an open window, we hear a TV being flicked on from inside and see the welcoming glow of the screen behind the curtains of the house.

 

The ad was written by Rik Brown and Jon Fox at Leo Burnett, directed by Noah Harris through BlinkInk and VFX by MPC.

 

Guy North, Marketing Communications Director at Freeview, said: “As household budgets are increasingly stretched, we’re highlighting the alternative to pay TV. Our latest campaign encourages consumers to question whether an expensive subscription package is really right for them if most of the content they watch is free-to-air.”

 

“With the added benefit of recording programmes with Freeview+ and access to four HD channels with Freeview HD, Freeview is the smart choice for consumers who still want quality content at their fingertips but without the bill each month.”

 

Alongside TV advertising, the Freeview website will host a new interactive experience where consumers can explore the TV landscape and decide for themselves which services really suit their

viewing preferences. This will be available at www.freeview.co.uk/value from February 22nd.

 

The campaign will be extended to digital and radio spots as well as retail point of sale literature. In-store product demonstrations in partnership with Toshiba will take place across 31 John Lewis and Curry’s stores.

 

Freeview is the UK’s most watched digital television service, currently serving 19.3 million homes (including almost 10.6 million main set homes).

 

Credits

 

Project name: Over 95%

Client:  Guy North, Marketing Communications Director, Freeview

 

Creative agency:  Leo Burnett

Copywriters:  Rik Brown/ Jon Fox

Art directors: Rik Brown/ Jon Fox

Creative Directors: Richard Robinson/Graham Lakeland

Executive Creative Director: Justin Tindall

Agency TV Producer:  Rebecca Hunter

Planner (creative agency) Charlie Kirkbride/Josh Bullmore

 

Media agency MEC

Planner (media agency) Michelle Radley

 

Production company BlinkInk

Director Noah Harris

 

Post-production MPC

VFX Producer: Dionne Archibald, MPC

VFX Supervisor: Ludo Fealy, MPC

Grade: Jean-Clement Soret, MPC