VOO & FCB Turn 'Wheel of Death' Into New Ad Medium

We've all been there. One minute, you're happily watching a 'best of 2018 cute kittens compilation' online. The next, the screen freezes and the dreaded wheel of death appears, signalling the beginning of a long and painful wait for the video to load. It's enough to make you want to hurl your laptop at the wall.

And you're not alone. Research shows at over 50% of people experience ‘buffer rage’ - a state of uncontrollable anger induced by the interruption of online content or streaming video due to slow internet speed - every day, with 34 per cent claiming to suffer from it more than road rage.

In order to showcase its ultra-fast broadband, Belgian internet service provider VOO hijacked the frustrating symbol of a slow internet connection - the infamous buffering wheel  - and and literally turned it into a new advertising medium in a clever new campaign.  

La Vitesse Pour Tous (Fast Internet for All), created by FCB alliance agency Happiness Brussels, involved adapting the code behind the loading screens of news sites and streaming services. When internet users encounter a buffering problem, an additional message flashes up on-screen beneath the wheel of death, advising them to ‘Load up to 2 times faster with VOO’.

To encourage people to question their current speed, users are then directed to a custom platform, LaVitessePourTous.be, where all Belgian households can find out what their specific internet needs are and verify if their internet connection answers these needs. 

As well as the online hack, the campaign will be rolling out across TV, radio and outdoor.