News 2003
Finalists go the last mile to win Virgin Mobile’s Big Red House
01/04/2003
It’s been a crazy two weeks for the 20 finalists of Virgin Mobile’s Big Red House competition, who have been campaigning across campuses and on high streets around the country, trying to bag those crucial votes to win them a rent-free house for a year!
The competition, organised by Virgin Mobile and in its second year, began in September 2002, when more than 20,000 students entered phase one of the competition by registering on the web site. Since September 2003, students around the country have been ‘demonstrating their devotion’ by sticking an image of the Big Red House in the most imaginative, daring or outrageous place possible. It’s been a tense time for everyone since the competition kicked off, but now the heat is really on as the 20 chosen finalists campaign across their universities to convince, bribe or fool fellow students into voting for them.
So far the determined finalists have been going to whatever means necessary to catch the judges eyes, with campuses being subjected to bribery from girls in fishnets, cunning stunts by Jackass’s Steve ‘O’ and even a few bare bottoms.
The results will be announced on April 3rd 2003, at which point the 10 lucky winners can finally celebrate getting a house of their choice rent-free for the academic year 2003 / 2004 for themselves and three friends. There are no losers, however, as the 10 remaining runners up will still have their hard work and initiative rewarded by having the deposit on their next house paid for, all courtesy of Virgin Mobile.
James Kydd, brand director at Virgin Mobile, said: “The Big Red House competition has been even more popular this year, attracting twenty thousand entrants all showing an admirable combination of ingenuity and bare-faced cheek – quite literally for one contestant! Virgin Mobile prides itself on being different from other networks thanks to its simple tariff with no contract to sign, so we believe it is only right that the winners are chosen because they too stand out from the crowd!”
To find out more about the competing candidates visit www.thebigredhouse.co.uk where full details of the competition and the students’ crazy antics can be found.
