[Arneldo]

Virgin Media has produced around 80 idents to back its sponsorship of this year's Big Brother, which returns on Thursday, promoting the company's fibre optic speed broadband and mobile services.

The sponsorship idents, created by WPP ad agency RKCR, will run throughout the 13-week series of Big Brother.

Virgin's tongue-in-cheek ads, which will run as 15-, 10- and five-second idents around Big Brother coverage, will promote Virgin Mobile's Liberty Sim product for contract customers and the Daily Bonus deal for pre-pay customers. Both services provide the mobile firm's customers with extra minutes and texts.

Virgin's idents focus on what different people use their free minutes for.

One clip opens with a shot of a middle-aged man in a shellsuit watering plants near his conservatory.

A voiceover runs: "Jim uses his Virgin Mobile to get VIP treatment at V Festival where he goes all big fish, little fish, cardboard box."

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