News 2002
Wyclef Jean rapped for breach of contract in new Virgin Mobile TV ad
13/11/2002
American rap superstar Wyclef Jean is to star in his second TV commercial for Virgin Mobile. The campaign breaks on national TV from 18th November 2002 and in cinemas from the beginning of December, and features Wyclef being imprisoned for `breach of contract’.
The ad reinforces Virgin Mobile’s position as the only operator in Britain not to offer contract tariffs, and builds on the success of the first Wyclef ad, warning viewers to be careful what they sign. Virgin Mobile’s Flextariff allows customers to earn free minutes without having to sign any contract.
The first Wyclef ad, screened in May 2002, will be repeated on TV screens from the 11th to 18th November. It saw Wyclef forced to become the sex slave of trailer park trash `Suzanne’, after the superstar gave her what he thought was just his autograph, only to discover that he’d actually signed a legally-binding marriage contract to her. Wyclef then descended into trailer park marriage hell, with a bucktoothed wife and several hillbilly stepchildren, leaving him to rue his hastily given signature.
This latest execution features Wyclef back in the trailer with Suzanne, only this time she’s lying back in post-coital bliss in the bedroom, while he’s in the bathroom throwing up. Facing the horrid prospect of being bound to her for life, he makes a bid for freedom through the open trailer window. His escape is short-lived, however, as the sheriff driving the car he stops for help arrests him for `breach of contract’. In jail he meets some very unsavory characters in the shower, one of which claims to be Wyclef’s biggest fan... And another burly tattooed inmate who asks him to `pass the soap’… that just happens to be on the floor!
Alison Pye, brand manager at Virgin Mobile, said: “The first Wyclef commercial was the most successful ad that Virgin Mobile has ever run and it attracted a huge cult following with the British public. We hope this second ad will be equally, if not more, popular. As the only UK mobile operator to offer a proposition that is truly made for the youth market, it’s safe to say that Virgin Mobile is definitely Wyclef’s biggest fan!”
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