Virgin Media is taking a walk on the wild side for its latest ad campaign with the introduction of new characters Ed the Sofa Bear and Ally the Night Owl who love to watch TV in their own way.
The ads champion the vast number of Box Sets and movies available to Virgin Media customers through Virgin Movies, Sky Movies and Netflix. First airing on primetime ITV during X Factor on Saturday, 4th October, the campaign demonstrates the different ways customers watch their favourite content through animal archetypes.
In the first ad, called Sofa Bear', a brown bear called Ed lays stretched out on a sofa watching The Wolf of Wall Street while his human housemate tidies up around him. A voiceover explains Sofa Bears like Ed often hibernate in front of the TV for entire weekends, which is why they go for Virgin Media and its huge library of movies and Box Sets. Ed's housemate momentarily steps in front of the TV so Ed cranes his head to get a better view. When the housemate plugs in the vacuum it proves too much of a disturbance for Ed, who roars irritably.
In the second ad, called Night Owl', Ally the barn owl perches on an armchair in a living room lit only by the flickering light from the TV. The voiceover explains Night Owls like Ally are identifiable by their frequent call up the stairs of Just one more episode' and love Virgin Media for its immense range of movies and Box Sets that keep them on the edge of their seat. When Ally is finally persuaded to go to bed, she can't resist sitting up to watch yet another episode of The Walking Dead on a tablet with her headphones on while her human partner is sound asleep next to her.
While Ed and Ally front the TV ads, other animal characters will feature across the campaign, which will also run in cinema, display, online search, social media and Video on Demand,. Each character represents a different TV-watching archetype, helping demonstrate the flexibility of Virgin Media's comprehensive entertainment service.
The other characters are:
Sue the Content Squirreler (squirrel): Sue is effortlessly organised and likes to record her favourite shows so they're ready on her set-top box whenever she wants them.
Sam the Remote Controller (hippo): It's nigh-on impossible to wrestle the remote from young Sam, who loves watching kids shows and movies
Jamie the Screen-Juggler (orangutan): Jamie loves sport and keeping up with his favourite shows and is often seen doing four things at once across different screens
Richard Larcombe, Director of Brand and Marketing at Virgin Media, said: From Breaking Bad to The Lego Movie, we've got it on Virgin Media. Customers love searching the vast range of shows, Box Sets and films whether they're at home or on the go. In our new campaign, we want to celebrate the fact that people watch their favourite entertainment in their own way and whether they're a Sofa Bear, a Night Owl or some other species, Virgin Media is the perfect habitat for all their TV needs.
Virgin Media customers can get Sky Movies and access to Virgin Movies from £50 a month, now with Netflix included for six months, on the Big Kahuna Movies' bundle1. This market-beating bundle also makes the most of the unrivalled power of Virgin Media's network by boasting 152Mb broadband, twice as fast as any other service of scale. It also includes the highly acclaimed TiVo with over 230 TV channels with over 40 in HD, such as every BT Sport channel, more channels on the go than any other provider, as well as a home phone and service and repairs included at no extra cost.
Virgin Media's Big Bundles have transformed the way in which home communications and entertainment services can be bought, offering unprecedented flexibility and value to consumers. Details of the full range of Virgin Media Big Bundles can be found here: www.virginmedia.com
The ad campaign was created by BBH with media planning handled by Fifty6.
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
12/07/2025
As the death toll continues to mount, with at least 120 killed and more than 170 people still missing on July 10 from devastating Texas floods, a number of broa...
12/07/2025
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., and MIAMI -DirecTV and TelevisaUnivision have signed a deal that will make the ad-supported premium subscription tier of ViX, ViX Premium wi...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Will Release Death Inc. Seasons 1, 2 and 3
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Season 1
Season 2
Se...
11/07/2025
AI and Multimedia Authenticity Standards Collaboration launches two papers to guide the future of AI integration, today at the AI for Good Global Summit
The...
11/07/2025
Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia.
From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance pa...
10/07/2025
The current holder of the prestigious Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award has been forced to stop reporting over fears for her safety in Afgha...
10/07/2025
Spotify is turning up the volume on Australian music with a multipronged initiative designed to highlight the dominance of Australian artists on the global stag...
10/07/2025
This is not a drill: Oasis is back on the road-marking its first live performanc...
10/07/2025
The music industry depends on fresh ideas, bold voices, and emerging talent. Yet across the U.K., too many young musicians lack the space to develop their craft...
10/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...
10/07/2025
Local newscasts don't exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what's working, what isn't and perhaps most impor...
10/07/2025
Lawo has announced that Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) has comprehensively modernized its central recording studio after selecting an I...
10/07/2025
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has opened early-bird registration for the Media Technology Summit, which will take place in a ne...
10/07/2025
NASHVILLE, Tenn. TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions....
10/07/2025
BURBANK, Calif. Key Code Education, a provider of instructor-led postproduction training, is growing its curriculum with new programs for beginner and intermedi...
10/07/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at...
10/07/2025
The Federal Register has published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission's Public Notice seeking comments on its ownership rules that lists a d...
10/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for SuperestarPlay Video
Play Video
Entertainment
10 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard...
10/07/2025
In the race to understand our planet's changing climate, speed and accuracy are everything. But today's most widely used climate simulators often strugg...
10/07/2025
As one of the world's largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its Golden 2045 Vision - an initiative tapping digital technologies and...
10/07/2025
10 Jul 2025
VEON and Cohen Circle Secure Investor Commitments for Kyivstar Listing Kyiv, New York, Dubai, and Philadelphia - July 10, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq:...
10/07/2025
5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...
10/07/2025
Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...
10/07/2025
Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...
10/07/2025
Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...
10/07/2025
FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...
10/07/2025
SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...
Virgin Media is taking a walk on the wild side for its latest ad campaign with the introduction of new characters Ed the Sofa Bear and Ally the Night Owl who love to watch TV in their own way.
