Eurostar launches Olympic campaign

Eurostar’s first pan-European ad campaign launches in the UK tomorrow (1 October).

The campaign, to support the train operator’s sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics, stars Jarvis Cocker, French film director Michel Gondry and Belgian musician Arno Hintjens.

Eurostar has deliberately avoided use of Olympic athletes because so many other sponsors’ ad campaigns follow the same pattern. Instead it features Cocker, Gondry and Hintjens, discussing ideas for a fantasy opening ceremony for the Games including flags flying like rockets, galleon ships and rock stars.

Nick Mercer, Eurostar commercial director, told Marketing Week that the ad was “designed not to be neutral” and people will either love it or hate it.

“We’ve always tried to be creative and see our communications as a story so we looked at 2012 in the same way. There won’t be any athletes alongside the company logo, we’ve tried to relate it back to the emotional benefit of Eurostar,” he adds.

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