The Guinness Book of Records is making its advertising debut on
national TV in time for Christmas with a pounds 500,000 campaign through
Triangle.
Two films featuring a funky schoolboy aim to update the image of the
famous book which is in its 43rd edition.
A 30-second and ten-second spot each show a young boy walking into a
bookshop and picking up a copy of the book. As he opens it, his hair
stands on end and a raucous dance track fills the shop.
As he turns the pages, images from the book leap out to show the
different subjects featured such as the Spice Girls, the England
footballer, Michael Owen, a fierce-looking spider and a piranha.
The ads break this week on ITV, Channels 4 and 5 and selected satellite
channels. They are aimed at eight- to 14-year-olds.
The TV campaign will be supported by point-of-sale promotions and the
book will also be promoted on the internet, where Guinness Publishing is
launching a website this month.
Matthew Heath, a director at Triangle, said: ’The Guinness Book of
Records has been extremely successful over the past few years. The book
has changed dramatically from what people remember and is much more
interesting and interactive.’
A regional test for the campaign ran in the Midlands a year ago. Malcolm
Roughead, marketing director for Guinness Publishing, said; ’The results
were very encouraging. The book has almost universal awareness, so we
needed to see if TV advertising could also promote sales before
Christmas.’
