Want to upgrade to a snazzy new Virgin Mobile phone? First, you'll have to creatively dispose of your old one.
This enjoyable new spot from Mother in New York shows scene after scene of people "accidentally" dropping, crushing, submerging, nuking, forgetting and otherwise getting rid of their old phones—though these are "happy accidents" (which is the title of the spot), orchestrated with a smirk by their perpetrators. The gag should get old after a while, but the pacing, as well as the setting and casting of each scene, keeps it hilarious fresh for the whole 60 seconds. The actors' faux horror never fails to amuse—whether it's the frizzy-haired dude who microwaves his phone instead of a burrito, the biohazard guy who drops his into a vat of toxic goo (which has a pink tentacle flapping ominously inside it), or the DIY home improver who nail-guns his to the ceiling. The disclaimers humorously keep pace with the action, too, beginning with the simple "Do not attempt" before moving on to "Please do not attempt," "Seriously, do not attempt," "We're not kidding. Do not attempt," "Don't attempt this either" and "Do not attempt any of this stuff."
Should you attempt to switch carriers, though? Well, it takes more than losing/destroying your existing phone to get out of your contract. If you are willing to pay the fee to break the contact, then your old phone will indeed be happily disposable. Otherwise, you might want to wait a few months until you're in the clear.
A recent eBay ad worked off a similar conceit as this one. But Virgin won't be sweating that. Fact is, this spot—presumably like the phones it promotes—is better anyway.
CREDITS
Client: Virgin Mobile
Agency: Mother, New York
Production Company: Smuggler
Director: Guy Shelmerdine
Director of Photography: Joost Van Gelder
Chief Operating Officer: Lisa Rich
Executive Producers: Brian Carmody, Allison Kunzman, Laura Thoel
Producer: Drew Santarsiero
Postproduction: Final Cut Editorial
Editor: Matt Murphy
Assistant Editor: Jacob Kuehl
Executive Producer: Saima Awan
Senior Producer: Suzy Ramirez
Smoke Artist: Ernie Camacho
Colorist: Stephan Sparkle
Production Designer: Tom Hartman