• by Aaron Baar , June 8, 2016

Kelis’ “Milkshake” may bring all boys to the yard, but Verizon’s brings them to the network.

Using the 2003 hit and its catchy refrain (“They’re like/It’s better than yours”), the carrier is looking to align its pre-paid plans with its “Better Network” positioning, says Leo Prat, executive creative director at agency The Community, which created the video. 

“I don’t even know if people know Verizon has pre-paid plans,” Prat tells Marketing Daily. “What we wanted to do was put pre-paid out there in a way that is funny and unexpected.”

The video begins in a diner where a group of young businessmen are comparing streaming speeds. When one complains that his pre-paid plan is useless, another breaks into song. “My prepaid/brings all gigs to the plan/My network/is better than yours/My network/is better than yours.” The song continues with lines about checking out cat gifs, no annual contracts and being able to reach Mexico with no extra roaming charges. 

“You see the Verizon ad [in the background] and ‘Welcome to Better Matters,’” Prat says. “The song is obviously super-catchy, but it’s all about being better.”

The video, which will be cut into the three time lengths, will be shown on various social media networks and YouTube, as well as in Walmart retail, Prat says. Given some of the content it mentions is available via streaming, the video needed to be eye-catching to get attention. 

“We’re competing with funny videos about dogs and cats,” Prat says.