Mobile internet provider Three is to launch a new TV ad campaign tonight that seeks to celebrate the frivolous act of sharing funny clips and photos online.
The first ad premieres tonight at 7:45pm on ITV1 and stars a Shetland pony with an unusual talent for moonwalking - an effort to show that such content isn’t entirely unproductive but rather an important gesture to build friendships and relationships.
In the clip Socks is seen scraping a hoof and flicking his mane before breaking into an unlikely moonwalk across his field, a spectacle the firm hopes will be shared by viewers on their inboxes, news streams and Twitter feeds. An accompanying web app hosted on YouTube has also been created to stimulate even more sharing.
Created by Wieden+Kennedy and directed by Dougal Wilson the ad carries the strapline ‘Silly stuff. It matters’ and was filmed on location in Shetland to the accompanying sounds of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Everywhere’.
Freddie Powell and Hollie Walker, Creative Team for Wieden+Kennedy, said: “All that seemingly stupid, funny and downright daft stuff we look at online on a daily basis . . . it's not silly at all. It's this stuff that we pass around, that we share, that connects us to one another.
“We wanted to do more than just hold up a mirror to all the crazy stuff online. We wanted to actually contribute to it and a moonwalking pony felt like something that people on the internet would gravitate towards. So we took that concept and put it on a pedestal, lavishing it with cinematic glory. We wanted to make something people would want to share, which is where PonyMixer.com came in – a tool which allows users to play with Socks and create their own little piece of joy, something personal that they would want to pass on to others.”