Forget the 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon. It's Now 12 Thanks to Visible's Latest Ad

Bacon stars in Visible’s “12 Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” a new campaign that promotes the wireless company’s plan to get 12 months of service for only $5 a month when they refer 12 friends and family. The spot, which was created by agency Madwell, airs during the Grammys on Sunday, features Bacon sharing how he’s “bringing everyone within 12 degrees of him” to Visible. That includes people like Bacon’s dentist, his dentist’s assistant and actor Michael Gross “from that cult ‘90s film” Tremors, which they starred in together.

‘Get better with other people’

Since its launch in 2018, community has been at the heart of Visible’s message: Affordable friends and family plans help create “the only service” that can “get better with other people in your life,” according to CMO Minjae Ormes. The wireless carrier intended “12 Degrees of Kevin Bacon” to reflect that idea. It even worked with Bacon himself to make a few tweaks to the spot and bring his own ideas to the table.

“We wanted to do that in a way that didn’t necessarily just cheapen the message because [the plans are] lower in price,” Ormes told Adweek. “[It] doesn’t mean you get less for the quality, and that’s the part where I feel like our partnership with Kevin Bacon really brought it to life.”

With the pandemic upending events that bring about “existing media moments” and “cultural conversations,” Ormes said that airing an ad during the Grammys just made sense, especially when its target market is Gen Z and millennials.

Maximizing people’s attention

“We wanted to pick one of those moments that still do exist—perhaps in a different format now because of the pandemic and everything that we are living with—to be able to do something like this in a way that can maximize people’s attention and hopefully the conversation around it,” she said.

And although young people are at the core of Visible’s marketing, the carrier is learning more about how it can reach other generations to “change the behavior of consumers when it comes to the telecommunications industry” through its direct-to-consumer model.

“Ultimately, what we hope to achieve as a business is that what we create in our product experience that should be easy and seamless and affordable for people to be able to use,” Ormes said.

Last month, Adweek named Visible to its annual Challenger Brands list, which spotlights brands disrupting the status quo. Visible earned its spot on the list thanks to its digitally-reimagined virtual concert series and its previous campaign, which starred Schitt’s Creek actor Daniel Levy who gleefully poked fun at his own bushy eyebrows.

For Visible, Schitt’s Creek Star Dan Levy Is Delightfully In on the Joke