The campaign, created by Abbot Mead Vickers, launches tomorrow and is designed to highlight the value that BT places on customer service and how it treats existing customers just as well as new ones, unlike some firms, which concentrate solely on acquiring new customers.
The first ad, "equality", will focus on how BT offers old and new customers the same quality of service. It features Clarkson in a range of scenarios highlighting how businesses spend their time chasing new customers using different techniques, but rarely give existing customers the red carpet treatment. This is dramatised in the ads with offers ranging from free umbrellas to trips to the moon.
The second ad will focus on what BT believes customers really want and both feature the strapline "BT. More power to you". The campaign will run on press and TV.
Gavin Patterson, BT group managing director of consumer and ventures, said: "It's been some time since we have used a public face to endorse our messages but we felt that Jeremy Clarkson was an ideal choice for the whole area of customer service.
"He's famous as somebody who doesn't suffer fools gladly and embodies the straightforward principles we aim to follow in our business. We think that Jeremy can help us to get our point across in a humorous and engaging way. If these ads are anywhere near as successful as the famous Bob Hoskins ones then we won't be doing badly at all."
Bob Hoskins was the last celebrity to front a BT campaign, with the "It's good to talk" strapline. Others have included Maureen Lipman's "Beattie" character, which although popular, failed to deliver as well as the Hoskins ads.
TV media was planned by PHD and bought by The Allmond Partnership, with print media planned and bought through Starcom MediaVest.
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