The Sun kicks off football season with TV campaign

By Sara Kimberley, campaignlive.co.uk, Monday, 25 July 2011 01:04PM

The Sun has launched a print and TV ad campaign today (25 July) to promote its coverage of the upcoming 2011/2012 football season.

The Sun: animated film promotes paper's coverage of the forthcoming football season

Created by WCRS&Co, the film includes an animated version of Wayne Rooney’s goal in last season's Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

It uses work by animator Richard Swarbrick, through his production company Hotspur and Argyle, and the 30-second spot also features a voiceover from Sun columnist and football pundit Terry Venables.

The ad ends with a close-up of The Sun's three major football columnists, Venables, Ian Wright and Harry Redknapp. The creative directors behind the ads were Billy Faithfull and Ross Neil. Creatives Andy Lee and Jonny Porthouse also worked on the ad.

Media has been handled by WPP's Mindshare.

Richard Gale, brand director of The Sun, said: "When it comes to quality football coverage, no one tells it like The Sun.

"We’re right there with the fans at every match, sharing their hopes, fears, emotions and tears. The moment we saw Swarbrick's animation style, it sent a collective shiver down our spines. Our writers bring football to life in the newspaper and online, and we knew straight away that he was the perfect man to bring our football content to life on screen."

News International is redirecting a major portion of its marketing spend to back the Saturday edition of The Sun, in the wake of the closure of the News of the World (NotW).

A significant portion of the £7.8m NotW annual adspend is likely to go towards promoting the Saturday tabloid, which faces strong competition from the Daily Mail.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk