Bright House Spots Shine

Playing off its name, Bright House Networks is running a series of colorful spots that call attention to the rebranding of various Time Warner Cable systems turned over last fall to Advance/Newhouse Communications.

The blend of eye-catching visuals, judicious use of programming clips and information on new products and services makes for an effective campaign.

Most of the 13 spots in the package open with a voiceover saying, "Do you live in a Bright House?" In one 30-second spot, Sarah Jessica Parker — in a clip from Home Box Office's Sex and the City
— replies, "Yes, I do."

Viewers are then taken on a tour of a contemporary home as the Bright House voiceover specifies its wares, from digital cable and AOL for Broadband to on-demand premium channels.

As the camera pans across the various rooms in the home — in bright shades of orange — we see family members using all sorts of technology: a portable TV, a flat-screen TV, a laptop and a desktop computer.

In fact, the actors and furnishings were "composited" into a computer-generated "virtual home" by production shop Click 3x. Each room's action was shot separately.

In one spot, touting on-demand HBO, Cinemax and Showtime offerings, the voiceover says, "In a Bright House, everything revolves around you … It's TV on the only schedule that matters — yours."

Another spot focuses on digital cable and the MSO's digital video recorder functions: "Bright House means TV on your terms … With digital cable and iControl, you can start pay-per-view movies whenever you want" — whereupon Michael Imperioli, in a scene from HBO's The Sopranos, remarks, "I love movies."

The announcer adds that Bright House's DVR function enables subscribers to "capture up to 50 hours" of programming, sports and movies.

Still other spots promote a digital cable/AOL broadband combination buy and, in Spanish, the MSO's Hispanic programming. The latter spot utilizes more subdued coloring than most of the general-market :30s.

By combining digital cable and AOL for Broadband Internet access — "so room by room, screen by screen, your home becomes a much brighter place" — the commercial says, subscribers can "save up to $12 a month."

Fry Hammond Barr, Orlando, Fla., is Bright House's agency.