Five top models stomped down the catwalk at Berkeley Church in Toronto last month wearing what can only be called ‘mobile couture.’ The event, orchestrated by Toronto-based Virgin Mobile Canada, Black Chalk Marketing and PR agency Hill & Knowlton, introduced a new HSPA+ network, phones like the iPhone and BlackBerry Curve, as well as its Members Lounge customer service offering.
Virgin invited top Canadian designers to create outfits inspired by the new offerings, such as an iPhone dress by Thien Le and mobile internet lingerie by Nada. The provocative outfits in predominantly red and black – the Virgin brand colours – were modelled by several famous Victoria’s Secret models including Erin Heatherton and Brooklyn Decker.
‘It was actually Richard [Branson]’s idea,’ says Nathan Rosenberg, CMO, Virgin Mobile Canada. ‘He recently did a shoot with the Victoria’s Secret people on Necker Island. So when we were talking about the launch, we were talking about how cold it is in Canada in the middle of February, and he said, ‘you’ve got the hottest models of phones launching, why don’t you have the hottest models launching them?”
The daytime fashion show was followed by a launch party that included body painting by a Blackberry Bold team. And in the days surrounding Valentine’s Day, Virgin ‘Angels’ spread love in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal by handing out everything from coffee to transit fares to hugs.