EX-OLYMPIAN RECRUITED FOR LOVEFiLM SPRINT-VERTISING CAMPAIGN
In a marketing first Olympic medallist Jamie Baulch has been signed up to sprint around the capital acting as a human mobile advert.
LOVEFiLM has recruited the former world champion runner for an alternative advertising campaign to highlight its unlimited movie streaming service. LOVEFiLM members can instantly watch thousands of films, from Hollywood blockbusters to critically acclaimed titles, on their living room TVs via the PlayStation 3™ or internet connected devices, as well as on PCs and the iPad®. Later this year, members will also be able to watch films instantly through the Xbox 360.
The former Team GB runner will bolt across London whilst flying branded banners behind him attached to his back, becoming the first mobile human advert for the film delivery service.
As host city for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, London was picked to be the starting point for Baulch, before he goes on to take the LOVEFiLM streaming message to the rest of the UK.
LOVEFiLM, Europe’s largest subscription service – streaming movies and TV episodes over the internet and sending DVDs by post – offers an unlimited package which includes limitless streaming and DVDs for just £9.99 a month.
With the Games less than 270 days away, it would seem that the Olympics are already having an effect on the imaginations of film fans everywhere. The sprint-vertising campaign comes after a quarter of film fans polled by LOVEFiLM voted Forrest Gump their favourite on-screen runner (26 per cent), followed by Run Fat Boy Run’s Dennis in second place (15 per cent) and Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (ten per cent).
Top Ten Film Runners:
1. Tom Hanks – Forrest Gump (26 per cent)
2. Simon Pegg – Run Fatboy Run (15 per cent)
3. Johnny Depp – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (ten per cent)
4. Sylvester Stallone – Rocky Balboa (nine per cent)
5. Ewan McGregor – Trainspotting (seven per cent)
6. Franka Potente – Run Lola Run (six per cent)
7. Harrison Ford – Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (five per cent)
= 7. Matthew Broderick – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (five per cent)
9. Daniel Craig – Casino Royale (three per cent)
10. Carrie Anne Moss – The Matrix (two per cent)
Other – 12 per cent
Jamie Baulch, Olympic medallist and former Team GB athlete, says:
“As a huge film fan it was great to hear from LOVEFiLM and I was flattered they wanted to recruit me as the human ad. It is definitely an unusual way to spend the day and spread the instant streaming message. My marathon run and training this year has certainly paid off!”
Simon Morris, Chief Marketing Officer at LOVEFiLM, comments:
“LOVEFiLM fans can now instantly watch as much as they want, whenever they want, on more platforms than ever. We are pleased to have one of the country’s most recognisable Olympians sprinting in the name of film. Our members and film fans can now enjoy unlimited DVDs and instant movie streaming for under ten pounds – that’s less than the congestion charge from one side of the capital to the other. No wonder we’ve signed up Jamie.’’
