Sky “dials up” unlimited offer in second phase of €10m broadband campaign

Sky Ireland has entered "phase two" of its €10 million marketing campaign, releasing the second of two television advertisements starring Pierce Brosnan.

The second advertisement in the campaign once again depicts the former James Bond believing everyone he meets is excited to see him – when really they are gawping at ads for Sky broadband – but it focuses more on the unlimited download aspect of its higher-priced offer.

Sky Ireland's sales and marketing director Mark Anderson said 75-80 per cent of customers taking up its broadband offer since its launch in February were opting for the €40-per-month unlimited product, rather than the €30-per-month Broadband Lite product, which caps usage at 2GB.

The television element of the campaign was developed by the London-based ad agency WCRS and was shot by director Taiki Waititi and Oscar and Bafta-nominated cinematographer Danny Cohen.

Brosnan is not the first Hollywood actor to have appeared in advertisements for Sky broadband – in the British market, both Jennifer Aniston and Bruce Willis have starred in separate campaigns aimed at increasing broadband subscribers. The Navan actor’s price tag was apparently not quite as high as theirs, however.

Mature market
"He was really keen to do something in Ireland," says Anderson. The star of Taffin and Love Is All You Need , as well as the Bond franchise from 1995 to 2002, signed autographs and posed for pictures with locals in between takes during the Dalkey shoot.

Broadband is an important driver of growth in a mature television market, where Sky now competes with UPC in selling so-called triple-play television, broadband and home phone packages.

The company is using BT Ireland’s wholesale broadband to deliver the Sky-branded broadband, which has speeds of up to 24Mb, with Eircom’s network utilised in areas where BT’s services are not offered.

The arrangement means Sky’s ability to offer speeds on a par with those of UPC is dependent on network upgrades in the Republic by the two wholesalers.

"We are actively talking to both BT and Eircom about their fibre rollout," says Mark Deering, Sky Ireland's corporate affairs director. Eircom is due to launch its new efibre broadband product next Thursday.

In the meantime, the second wave of the Sky broadband campaign, which will run for the next six weeks, also includes new radio and outdoor advertisements. “We’ve found that outdoor, both here and in the UK, is a very simple way of dialling up our messaging,” says Anderson.

Sky has “no current plans” to introduce its over-the-top service Now TV for non-subscribers in the Republic, he says. In Britain, non-subscribers can buy an online “day pass” to Sky Sports costing £9.99 or monthly access to movie content via Now TV.

BSkyB, which is 39 per cent owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, is the second biggest broadband provider in Britain following its acquisition of Telefónica's broadband and fixed-line phone division in March.