WITH the Rio 2016 Olympic Games opening ceremony just hours away, Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd, Official Automotive Partner of the British Olympic Association (BOA) and British Paralympic Association (BPA), has been having some fun with some of the nation’s biggest medal hopefuls.
The ‘#DoItForUs’ campaign, which will launch with a 90” TV commercial (TVC) roadblock across ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky this evening, reveals how Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes, including Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Heptathlon) and Richard Whitehead MBE (Athletics), fared when pranked by two Nissan Global Sponsorship ‘executives’, keen to get more return on their sponsorship investment.
The two executives played by actors and filmed on hidden cameras, approached athletes with their suggestions on how they could feature the Nissan brand more prominently during their event at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Not content with just sponsoring the British teams, the executives shared their own recommendations on how they could sponsor every element of their performance.
Amongst many of Nissan’s recommendations are that Max Whitlock (gymnastics) holds his breath to communicate the Nissan LEAF’s Zero Emissions, and Richard Whitehead MBE (athletics) makes a Nissan LEAF start-up sound before his event.
Rather like Mo Farah’s famous ‘Mobot’, other British athletes were also asked if they would adopt the ‘N for Nissan’ sign or consider opening out their arms to ‘steer’ around the bend during their events. The film captures the reactions of many famous faces to see how open they would be to supporting Nissan’s sponsorship.
The campaign film was shot during Team GB’s Kitting Out at the Birmingham NEC and ParalympicsGB’s Team Launch in London, ahead of the team’s departure to Rio. As well as launching via TVC’s on the evening of the Rio 2016 Olympic Opening Ceremony, the campaign will feature heavily across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube during the entirety of the games.
The hero film will also feature as a Twitter ‘First View’ film, appearing on the Twitter feeds of all users of the channel for 24 hours on Friday 5th August. The film was edited by Anthony Boys, and starred Gareth Kane and Kirsty Dillon.
Two teaser films featuring Sir Chris Hoy and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson also launched via Nissan’s social media channels earlier this week, encouraging British athletes to get involved with Nissan’s sponsorship requests.
A campaign hashtag #DoItForUs will also reveal a bespoke medal emoji when used on Twitter.
Jim Wright, Managing Director, Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd, added: “Nissan is incredibly proud of its work with the BOA and BPA, and in the build up to the Rio 2016 Games we have been dedicated to bringing the British public closer to the team, in an exciting and playful way.
“All of the athletes involved in the filming proved what great sports they are and we wish them the very best of luck during the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
To watch the video of the prank, click here.
To watch Sir Chris Hoy’s message to Rio 2016 athletes, click here.
To watch Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson’s message to Rio 2016 athletes, click here.
