Conduit plans to spend 拢40m over the next three years on the campaign, trying to capture a slice of the 拢280m spent annually on directory enquiry calls. It offers its service for 20p a call from any landline or mobile -- half the price of BT 192.
The aim is to establish its service as a household name, and to break the habit people have of dialling 192.
The advertising was created by Partners BDDH. In the television ad, it shows the Conduit numbers, 11 88 88, as superhero digits, saving unsuspecting members of the public from being overcharged when making directory enquiry calls. The campaign features the strapline "We'll save you".
Nexus Products director and illustrator Jonas Odell produced the television, outdoor and print executions. He previously worked on the 'Music' video, which featured an animated version of Madonna.
Media planning for the campaign was by Havas-owned agency The Media Planning Group. It covers national television, breaking today (March 17), radio and outdoor, which have already been running, as well as print. There is also a range of ambient media, including "mad vans" and office screen savers.
Gary Purcell, sales and marketing director of Conduit, said: "We have made an extremely bold move with our price policy and we wanted our marketing campaign to be equally as striking. When it comes to directory enquiries, there is a massive job to be done in persuading consumers to break the habit of a lifetime and stop dialling 192."
He added: "We believe this will strike a chord with British consumers who are tired of being ripped off."
The advertising is backed by a PR campaign by the agency PR21.
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