After signing a pitchman with appeal across its European and North American markets, Altice will run a commercial spot in the U.S. featuring Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.
The No. 4 U.S. cable operator unveiled the spot today, in which the six-packed pro athlete gets accidentally locked out of his hotel room without his pants or shirt. A friendly female hotel employee lets him back in his room—with requisite sexual tension—but not before she snaps a photo of the soccer star.
RELATED: Altice, Charter take aim at DirecTV in new ad campaigns
By the time he settles back in front of the TV in his room, the pic has gone viral and has shown up on cable news reports.
The spot gives insight into how Altice, a recent corporate immigrant to the U.S., will employ its global marketing strategy, maximizing the potential of a single celebrity spokesman.
“Altice USA customers love using our lightning-fast broadband service, and we are excited to connect with our customers in a fun, lighthearted way with our new Cristiano Ronaldo campaign, which highlights the large role internet connectivity plays in today’s digital culture,” said Altice USA CMO Matt Lake, in a statement.
Altice, meanwhile, is running another TV spot that showcases a Washington Redskins-attired young man named “Carl” who gets in over his head with alleged skyrocketing DirecTV bills, then has to resort to a descending cascade of janitorial work, pawning of valuables, dangerous medical volunteer experiments and underground fighting in order to support his football habit.
In the end, a bruised and battered Carl plops down to watch a game, only to lose his satellite signal.
“Don’t be football poor,” Altice advises. “Switch to Optimum,” the spot adds. “We’ll buy you out of your contract and lock in your [$70-a-month] rate.”