“NBA all-star Kevin Garnett holds center court in a new TV spot from Verizon Communications that introduces the company’s FiOS TV service.”
New York — Eleven-time hoops star Kevin Garnett is now the latest A-list celebrity acting in a new advertising campaign for Verizon FiOS services.
The celebrated forward for the Celts, now occupied in an NBA playoffs showdown against the Detroit Pistons, is acting in a 30-second ad, themed “This is FiOS; This is Big,” the campaign displays the innovative services carried through Verizon’s advanced fiber-optic network straight to customers’ homes. Created for Verizon by McCann Erickson, New York, the new ad launched last Thursday (May 22).
The national ads, which started airing yesterday, will run for a couple of months, a Verizon spokesman said yesterday.
“Kevin Garnett is the ultimate, game-changing NBA star, and FiOS TV is the ultimate, game-changing entertainment experience,” said John Wimsatt, senior vice president of marketing for Verizon Telecommunications.
The Garnett ad intends to highlight the features of FiOS TV’s Home Media digital video recorder system, which gives customers the ability to record videos on one TV set, and then view them on up to six other TV sets in a subscriber’s homes.
In the spot, a Verizon FiOS installer explains to the National Basketball Association power forward that he can watch a DVR recording of Rocky on TV sets throughout what is purportedly Garnett’s ridiculously opulent Boston mansion, including one atop a grand piano.
“So you mean whatever I record here, I can watch over there?” Garnett asks the guy, first pointing to a huge flat-screen TV on one wall that is playing the movie Rocky Balboa, and then looking at an equally large screen on an opposite wall. “Yes,” the Verizon rep answers. “And here?” Garnett continues, with the pair now sitting in a huge dinning room. “Yes,” the tech replies. “And here?” Garnett persists, standing in a music room, bathroom and then a laundry room, each dominated by a TV screen. “Yes,” says the now beleaguered Verizon guy. “Cool,” says Garnett, ultimately convinced by the product’s service.
Garnett is considered as one of the best all-around players in NBA history. His achievements include being nominated the Most Valuable Player of the 2003-2004 NBA seasons, and being named to 11 All-Star teams and nine All-NBA and All-Defensive teams. He is the all-time leader in NBA seasons played with averages of at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists per game.
Verizon, the giant phone company that only recently jumped into the cable-TV business, provides digital services to 70 towns in Massachusetts, though not yet in the city of Boston.
“Our Home Media DVR completely changes the way families enjoy TV,” said Wimsatt. “Most cable company DVRs only let you record and watch content in one room, so the shows you most want to see are locked in one room, and so are you.”
The FiOS TV Home Media DVR frees family members to watch recorded programming and enjoy the stunning picture quality of FiOS TV whenever and wherever they want, in any room in the house — with just one DVR.
By teaming up with Verizon, Garnett is in effect pitching a product that competes with Comcast, owner of Comcast SportsNet, which carries Celtics games. Comcast yesterday said it was not intimidated by Garnett’s towering presence for Verizon, which also carries Comcast SportsNet’s Celtics games.
Referring to Verizon as a “phone company,” Comcast spokesman Jim Hughes said no other competitor “comes close” to its coverage of the “amazing Celtics” and other New England sports teams via its on-demand and high-definition services.
Garnett, in keeping with the light-hearted tone of the spot, pokes fun at himself and at the cliche of the wealthy, technology-obsessed professional athlete. He proudly tries out the multiple-screen capabilities of the FiOS DVR on the big-screen TVs installed in his bathroom and his laundry room, and joins the technician to enjoy an action film in front of a huge fireplace with a roaring fire. The ad closes with the star-struck Verizon technician nervously trying to “fist-bump” Garnett.
Verizon launched the “This Is FiOS, This Is Big” campaign in February with a spot featuring Hollywood film director Michael Bay.
To learn more about FiOS TV, visit http://www.verizon.com/fiostv.