O2 and VCCP unveil 'Roam on' holiday campaign

Mobile phone network O2 has unveiled a roaming campaign in a bid to remind the nation that O2 is the only major UK network not to charge customers extra for EU roaming.

Working with UK agency of record VCCP London, the brand's roaming campaign ties into the new brand ethos 'See What You Can Do' which aims to remind the nation that O2 customers can travel without hidden roaming charges.

‘Roam on’ - also created in collaboration with Bernadette and Girl&Bear - kicks off with a brand-new 40 second TVC which features O2’s blue robot, Bubl, and will run across TV, cinema, BVOD and OLV. Set to Lizzo’s anthem ‘Phone’, the film follows a series of holidaymakers and their holiday dramas after having to turn roaming off on their phones. The ad resolves with Bubl switching on an O2 customers’ data roaming, helping her find her way and enabling her to stride off towards an epic holiday.

The visual play with the 'Roam on' toggle will extend beyond AV and into other channels, with holiday makers set to see warning signs about the imminent loss of inclusive data for those not on O2 displayed in and around airports.

Following a hugely successful partnership in 2022, O2 has also signed up to be the official network partner of ITV’s hit show, Love Island, for a second year running. Targeting a younger audience, the campaign will see loveable brand mascot, Bubl, take up the role of a Love Island fan and insider, providing exclusive access to the Islanders at key moments and serving up sizzling content throughout the season.

As well as a 10 second TV ad and social media activations, a targeted Love Island media campaign executed through Manning Gottlieb OMD will target non-O2 customers, encouraging them to recouple and roam on with O2 using show language such as “Roaming charges giving you the ick”, as well as showcasing funny Love Island footage around key series moments. The creative will also roll out in OOH, O2 retail stores across the country and across Love Island inventory such as the Love Island app; all highlighting the Love Island visual world and sunny climes of Mallorca whilst reinforcing the ‘Roam on’ proposition.

Simon Groves, director of brand and marketing, Virgin Media O2 said: “Whether heading to Malta or Mallorca, our latest roaming campaign showcases the magic our customers can experience when travelling across Europe thanks to no hidden roaming charges on O2. The campaign brings to life Bubl’s playful yet helpful approach to showing our customers how they can keep connected and use their phone as they would at home, avoiding any last minute struggles to download music, find their hotel or translate a questionable menu choice!”

Richard Nott, creative director, VCCP London added: “It turns out that EU roaming charges are so annoying that it's not just us humans that hate them - even little blue robots do too. That's why Bubl's determined to do something about them this summer, so we can all Roam On at no extra cost from our lilos and sunbeds.”

Credits

Virgin Media O2

DIRECTOR OF BRAND AND MARKETING - Simon Groves

MARKETING DIRECTOR - Simon Valcarcel 

HEAD OF CAMPAIGNS - Richard Bown

SOCIAL AND CONTENT LEAD - Morgan Browne 

SENIOR CAMPAIGN MANAGER - Natasha Griffiths 

SENIOR CAMPAIGN MANAGER - Kate Skeggs 

SENIOR CAMPAIGN MANAGER- Dominic Smith 

CAMPAIGN MANAGER - Iona Murray-Spink

CAMPAIGN MANAGER- Amrita Kandhola 

VCCP

CREATIVE DIRECTORS - Richard Nott and David Feldman

CREATIVE - Abigail Williams

CREATIVE - Whitney Tam

CREATIVE - Emma Jackson

CREATIVE - Aly Golani 

SOCIAL CREATIVES: Hannah Mahony, Jenna Balfour, Becky Harrison

SOCIAL & INFLUENCE MANAGER: Lydia Ballard

MANAGING PARTNER - Emma Whitmarsh 

HEAD OF SOCIAL & INNOVATION: Alex Dalman

BUSINESS DIRECTOR - Charlotte Powell 

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Jonathan Andrews

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER - Luke Chaplin 

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER - Connor Fairfield

ACCOUNT MANAGER -  Sarah Wells

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE - Maya Hussey 

ACCOUNT COORDINATOR: Ibilola Feyisitan

DEPUTY HEAD OF PLANNING - Jenny Nichols

PLANNING DIRECTORS - Hannah Martin, Rob Estreitinho

PLANNER - Alex Orton

GIRL&BEAR

DESIGN DIRECTOR - Adam Edwards

SENIOR DESIGNER - Rob Churcher

DESIGNER - Leila Amin

SENIOR DESIGNER - Rohit Sharma

SENIOR DESIGNER - Clary Vikstrom

SENIOR DESIGNER - Matt Mongomery Taylor

SENIOR DESIGNER - Matous Martak

SENIOR DESIGNER: Bruno Rovarotto

SENIOR DESIGNER: Carl Sherry 

SENIOR DESIGNER: Matous Martak

INTEGRATED PROJECT DIRECTOR - Simon Keyworth

TV PRODUCER - Izzie Haak 

INTEGRATED SENIOR CREATIVE PRODUCER - Charlotte McCluskey

INTEGRATED SENIOR CREATIVE PRODUCER - Giselle Sambrook-Smith 

INTEGRATED SENIOR CREATIVE PRODUCER: Rose Nott

ARTLAB:

STUDIO MANAGER - James Perry

ASSISTANT STUDIO MANAGER - Sam Weight

SENIOR CREATIVE ARTWORKER - Toby Kadir

SENIOR ARTWORKER - Liam Leal

SENIOR ARTWORKER: Paul Craig

BERNADETTE

CREATIVE DIRECTOR - Jon Bancroft

PROJECT DIRECTOR - Ravi Patel

DIGITAL PRODUCERS: Alexia Mulet, Luke Dougherty, Francesco Segramora

SENIOR DESIGNER - Filip Stanek 

SENIOR DESIGNER: Claire Ashfield

SENIOR DESIGNER: Simon Bostock

DESIGNER: Ivan Huri

DESIGNER: Dexter Marshall

Production Company - FLIPT 

DIRECTOR - Tiny Bullet

FOUNDER / EP - Philippa Thomas

COFOUNDER / EP - Trent Simpson 

PRODUCER - Adam Saward

PRODUCTION MANAGER - Matt Bulaitis 

DOP - Joe Douglas

POST PRODUCTION - The Mill 

VFX SHOOT SUPERVISOR - Ruslan Borysov

VFX 2D SUPERVISOR - Dan Lorenzini

CG SUPERVISOR - Nick Slade

ANIMATION LEAD - Chris Welsby

VFX PRODUCER - Polly Roberts

LINE PRODUCER - Katie Gillard & Vikram Salvi

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT - Sam Ashby

VFX PRODUCTION COORDINATOR - Manish Kumar Tripathi

PROJECT LEAD - Manoj Palan

COMP - Davide Metti, Shaik Abdul Adil, Karthikeyan M D, Aasheesh Singh

DFX SUPE - Vivek Gopalrao Tekale

CG MODELLING - Shravan Srikanth

CG RIGGING - Andreas Graichen & Paolo Ceresa

CG ANIMATION - Chris Welsby, Rachel Ward, Kalpesh Bhikhabhai Patel, Minesh Ashok Nilankar, Jaykumar Patel

CG LIGHTING - Nick Slade, Giacomo Cavalletti, Sujith Sasankan

CG FX - Victor Skarbye  

COLOURIST - Philip Hambi

COLOUR PRODUCER - Polly Roberts

SOUND DESIGN - 750 

SOUND ENGINEER - Sam Ashwell

PRODUCER - Olivia Ray

STANLEY’S POST 

Paul Stokoe

Tash Parsons

MEDIA AGENCY - OMD MG

CLIENT BUSINESS DIRECTOR - Will Maclure 

PARTNERSHIPS BUSINESS DIRECTOR - Natalie Christoforou 

CLIENT ACCOUNT DIRECTOR - Anneka Williams

CLIENT SENIOR EXECUTIVE - Larah Eleftheriou 

PAID SOCIAL ACCOUNT DIRECTOR - Huda Nour