Meet the Bolt family in Virgin Media’s latest ad campaign

• Bolt appears as Grandpa, baby, boy and Mrs Bolt as whole family use Virgin Media’s superfast broadband to get online at once

• Ads showcase power of Virgin Media’s unique fibre optic network

Usain Bolt is starring as a whole family of Bolts in Virgin Media’s latest multi-million pound advertising campaign, celebrating Virgin Media’s unbeatable superfast broadband which offers seamless connectivity. The TV ad for the campaign will first air with a primetime slot during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 on ITV London on 1st January.

Usain takes on a range of roles for the campaign, including cheeky baby Bolt, playful boy Bolt, mischievous Mrs Bolt and the suave Grandpa Bolt. Each family member makes the most of Virgin Media’s powerful network as they are all able do the things they love online at the same time.

In the living room, Usain is keeping up with his football team, while boy Bolt loves playing on his PS4 in HD. Mrs Bolt is watching her ‘favourite athlete’ in the kitchen before hastily snapping the laptop shut as Usain wanders in and discovers it’s a Mo Farah race. Grandpa Bolt gives a cheeky wink to the camera as he’s surrounded by PCs, laptops and tablets, chatting online with a number of female admirers all at the same time.

Richard Larcombe, brand and marketing director at Virgin Media, said: “The growth of in-home devices is increasing exponentially, as such, customers rely on their network more and more to deliver a seamless experience.

“That’s why we’re excited to show everyone how Virgin Media’s powerful fibre optic network gives the whole family an unbeatable online experience – and who better to help us spread the word than the world’s fastest man? Usain brings the ads to life with his brilliant portrayal of an unforgettable Virgin Media family.”

The campaign was created by BBH1 with media planning handled by Fifty6, and will run across TV and online.

The country’s fastest widely available broadband is about to get even faster as Virgin Media boosts broadband speeds and launches a 152Mb broadband tier, twice as fast as any other widely available service, including BT Infinity. In 2014, Virgin Media’s broadband customers will be able to increase their speeds by at least 20Mb as Virgin Media leads the way in meeting the needs of households across the country as they continue to spend more time online, and on more devices.”

The new speeds will be available to the 12.5 million homes across the country served by Virgin Media’s superior fibre optic cable network.

1 The creative leads for the campaign are as follows:

Director: Benji Weinstein, Blink

Creative director: Mat Doman, BBH

Creative director: Ian Heartfield, BBH

Copywriter: Hugo Bone, BBH

Art director: Tony Clements, BBH

Production company: Blink

Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline.

The company’s dedicated, ultrafast network delivers the fastest widely available broadband speeds to homes and businesses. And we’re expanding this through our £3bn Project Lightning programme, which will reach 17 million premises.

Our interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones.

We launched the world’s first virtual mobile network, offering fantastic value and services to customers. We are also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland.

Through Virgin Media Business we support entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector, delivering the fastest widely available broadband speeds and tailor-made services.

Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company. Together Virgin Media and Liberty Global serve 27 million customers across 14 countries.