New DIRECTV campaign is one for the birds

The campaign features two perturbed pigeon spokebirds, and seeks to bust the brand’s biggest misconception: that you need a satellite dish to watch DIRECTV - much to the (lovable) grumbling of our pigeon neighbours.

The :30 hero spot will feature pigeon spokebirds (Frank & Bobby) reminiscing, New Yorker style, about why their favourite rest stops are now missing from DIRECTV households, humorously educating consumers that DIRECTV can be enjoyed without a satellite dish.

The campaign leverages the well-known voices of two iconic New Yorkers to lend its disgruntled pigeons some grumpy street cred: the award-winning actors Steve Buscemi and Henry Winkler. Winkler’s ‘Frank’ is a bumbling yet optimist bird while Buscemi’s ‘Bobby’ is his hot-headed, sarcastic counterpoint.

Why pigeons? The people that are going to miss satellite dishes the most aren’t people at all: they’re the pigeons who have loved taking their rest breaks on these dishes.

The insight that sparked the idea for this campaign comes from the fact DIRECTV has not required a satellite since 2016, but even now, eight years later, 75% of people still think you can only watch DIRECTV with a satellite dish.

Created in collaboration with creative agency TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, the full 360 campaign will include two :30s spots and one :15s for TV and use on digital, as well as two :15s for further digital and social spots, and four :30s radio spots. Additionally, the brand will be rolling out extensions for the campaign in the coming months.

DIRECTV has built such an established history of delivering superior satellite TV, that research shows new generations of consumers are not aware of DIRECTV’s exceptional TV via internet option, delivered by the Gemini device. While satellite TV is still widely used across the country, we found that this narrow view of the brand’s offerings was an untapped opportunity for innovation.