Let's Make it Great, Britain

LONDON, December 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

The Sun launches Olympics campaign

Britain's favourite newspaper The Sun will be launching a huge Olympics campaign at 12am on January 1 2012.

As the year of the Games kicks-off, the UK's biggest-selling newspaper will be throwing its weight behind London 2012 and calling on the public to get involved.

During the build-up to the event, The Sun will be celebrating what makes Britain great. The paper will bring the Olympics closer to its audiences and provide a platform for everyone to get involved and play their part in doing the country proud.

The Sun will be taking over the airwaves just after midnight on January 1 with an epic and emotional take on a key scene from the classic Olympics themed film Chariots of Fire. The 30-second ad will feature the film's star, Nigel Havers, sitting on a deckchair reading The Sun while people who represent the great British public run in slow motion down a beach to Vangelis' iconic theme tune. A longer 60-second version will be broadcast on ITV1 at 9.20pm on January 1 during the UK terrestrial premiere of Harry Potter and the Half Blood-Prince.

The ad, which has been created in partnership with creative agency WCRS, will continue to be shown on TV and in cinemas to support different aspects of the campaign up until the start of the Games.

It will also go live on The Sun website on January 1 - it can be viewed at http://www.thesun.co.uk/olympics

Slo-mo is then set to go viral with The Sun's digital campaign where users will be encouraged to film themselves doing everyday activities in slow motion. They can then upload the video to Facebook and use The Sun's specially created app to automatically add the movie's music to the clip. The best videos will be featured on The Sun's website.

Rob Painter, Marketing Director, The Sun, said: "There isn't a brand in the country that can ignite and capture the mood of the nation like The Sun.

"That's why we are committed to making London 2012 a great British Olympics and why we want to encourage our audiences to get involved and become a part of the Games."

The Sun is Britain's biggest-selling newspaper with around 8 million daily readers.

Full Ad Credits
Campaign: Let's Make It Great, Britain
Creative Agency: WCRS
Creative Directors: Billy Faithfull & Ross Neil
Creatives: Rich Littler &Zac Ellis
Media Agency: Mindshare
Production Company: Sonny
Post Production: Golden Square
Director: Guy Manwaring
Audio: Angell Sound
Music: Vangelis - 'Chariots of Fire - Titles'
Social Media: Jam