Santander UK Spoiler Alert: She Says 'Yes, I'll Marry You'

LONDON, May 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

• Santander UK has helped a customer propose to his girlfriend in the most unique and special way. 
• A viral film, entitled 'Love Virtually,' sees the couple get engaged in Sheffield with the help of hometown hero Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill.
• An innovative virtual reality stunt and a real-life surprise & delight, this is the first time a bank has played cupid on the British high street.
• URL link to downloadable film - https://we.tl/CLMfXaCmR9
• YouTube URL – https://goo.gl/6d5UGD
• Getty Images - https://goo.gl/W1qcVu
• Rights-free images - https://we.tl/Fu4khxle71

A couple are set to tie the knot thanks to Santander's 1I2I3 Current Account and a little help from Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill. The tear-jerking moment when Robin King produced a diamond ring, to his girlfriend's total surprise, has been made into a heart-warming digital short released today titled 'Love Virtually.'

Taking brand engagement to a literal level, Santander UK undertook a national search seeking someone ready to pop the question. 'Are you considering getting engaged soon?' it read. 'We may be able to help make the moment very magical for you.'

Robin, 37, responded to the call out. He'd been trying to think up an original way to propose, and the mysterious advert spurred him into action.

Robin and Kate (33), who live in Brighton, have been together for seven years and travelled to Sheffield, Jessica's hometown, for Robin to pluck up the courage and say "Will you marry me?"

Robin is a part-time electrician, a full-time father to their one-year-old son and a member of a British beard growing club. Kate works for a charity, and went along with Robin and Santander's nuptial subterfuge thinking she was in Sheffield for a customer research exercise involving virtual reality. But virtual became Actual Reality when she took off her goggles to find Robin on bended knee and an Olympic gold medal winner as a preemptive Maid of Honour.

Not only that, Jessica bore a £5,000 cheque as a gift from Santander UK to help kick-start Robin and Kate's future together.

The 1I2I3 Current Account, which has 4.7 million UK customers, offers 1.5% interest on balances of up to £20k and up to 3% cashback on their household bills, allowing everyone to spend on the things they really want; such as a long overdue wedding. That's the real, not virtual, reality of the 1I2I3 Current Account.

Santander ambassador Jessica was thrilled to toast Robin and Kate's engagement. "I was just as nervous about it as Robin. Thank goodness Kate said yes! It was such a special and moving moment, and there were a few tears shed in Sheffield's town centre!  Kate's reaction was absolutely brilliant. It was amazing to be there as part of Robin's unique proposal!" 

"It's still sinking in, to be honest," says Robin. "I saw the call out from Santander while procrastinating on social media and thought 'what a daft idea', which is exactly why I wanted to do it.

"I knew I wanted to pop the question, but I was racking my brains to think of something really memorable and fun. I told Kate just enough of the truth to get her in the car and up to Sheffield; I said we were off to test a VR experience for Santander in return for £250. Obviously, there was a massive twist at the end, and she had absolutely no idea it was coming. We're both thrilled with the result, and big thanks to everyone who helped arrange it. Now we just need to agree on a date."

Kate is certainly getting a lot more than she bargained for. "I went along with Robin's VR ploy because we needed to buy a new oven. I couldn't believe it when I took the headset off and there was Robin with a ring, and the real Jessica Ennis-Hill! It was a surreal and amazing experience, I couldn't be happier. And thanks to Santander we can plan an incredible honeymoon and buy that much-needed oven!"

'Love Virtually' follows on from the recent 'Suntan-der' viral, which saw unsuspecting Santander customers in London and Sheffield donning VR headsets showing beautiful Hawaiian beach scenes, only to remove the goggles and find themselves surrounded by a real beach, palm trees and Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill and British F1 World Champion Jenson Button presenting cheques for £5,000 to spend on their dream holidays -- https://youtu.be/g-iN_1UZ31E

The information contained in our press releases is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions.

Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 31 December 2016, the bank serves around 14 million active customers with c20,000 employees and operates through 841 branches (which includes 60 university branches) and 67 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.

About Us

Banco Santander (SAN SM, STD US, BNC LN) is a leading retail and commercial bank, headquartered in Spain, with a meaningful market share in 10 core countries in Europe and the Americas. It is among the world's top banks by market capitalization. The bank's purpose is to help people and businesses prosper, in a way that is simple, personal and fair. Founded in 1857, Santander had EUR 1.52 trillion in managed funds, 125 million customers, 12,200 branches and 188,000 employees at the close of 2016. Santander made attributable profit of EUR 6,204 million in 2016, an increase of 4% compared to the previous year.