Channel 4's 90 second Grand National promo will premiere on Channel 4, More 4 and E4 at just before 9pm tonight. The film has been put together by the same team that produced the (in my opinion) fantastic Superhuman promo for the Paralympics last year. Expect to see horses racing through the streets and gardens of Liverpool! Press Release from Channel 4: Channel 4 launches a major new marketing campaign for horse racing ahead of the Grand National with a âroadblockâ TV ad premiere across the Channel 4 portfolio just before the 9pm programme on Tuesday 19th March 2013. The 90 second long film promotes the most hotly anticipated date of the horseracing calendar year, with the Grand National having a reputation as the definitive test for horse and jockey. The trail sees Liverpool city take the place of Aintreeâs race course and features ten horses racing through streets, allotments, back gardens, parks and ponds whilst cars, fences, park benches and a skate park take the place of legendary jumps The Chair, Becherâs Brook and Canal Turn. The new TV campaign is set to The Night Marchersâ âThar she blowsâ with Channel 4 racing commentator Simon Holt providing live racing commentary. John Allison and Chris Bovill, Creative Directors, 4creative said; âWe wanted to demonstrate the excitement, adrenaline and drama of horseracing, the power of the horses and the skill of the jockeys by placing a race in an everyday context that everyone can relate to.â Commissioned by Channel 4 Marketing, Channel 4âs in house creative agency 4Creative acted as both creative agency and production company. 45 hoursâ of footage was shot over two days using 44 cameras and a cast and crew of almost 300 people, including race and stunt horses and jockeys to achieve the ambitious final film. James Walker, Channel 4 Head of Marketing said: âChannel 4 is now the home of racing and we are showing all the key racing events in 2013. The Grand National is the peopleâs race and we wanted to give that a particular C4 spin and make horse racing feel accessible and modern. â 4Creative worked alongside Horse masters The Devilâs Horsemen, who choreographed the stunt horses which included the horse that played Joey in Steven Spielbergâs Warhorse, as well as horses and jockeys who have featured in well-known titles including Les Miserables, Game of Thrones and The Kingsâ Speech. The TV campaign was conceived by 4Creativeâs Chris Bovill, John Allison and Keith McCarthy, with Keith McCarthy directing. The trail will be supported with a nationwide poster campaign portraying a post-race, muddied Ruby Walsh, which will provide another alternative perspective to racing â the jockeys. 4creative were responsible for the critically acclaimed Paralympics campaign Meet the Superhumans which was chosen as one of TEDâs ten âAds Worth Spreadingâ, Campaign magazineâs âCampaign of the Yearâ and recently secured 4creative three Golds at the Creative Circle awards. Once it has aired, post your comments here.
A big pile of poo. The best way to publicise the Grand National is to show horses jumping over the big fences, someones hedge is hardly the same as the Chair. This is what I feared with the switch, they dumb the sport down to the common man. I look forward to their fashion adverts for Royal Ascot. Any price on someone from TOWIE appearing in a C4 racing ad anytime soon?
Interesting idea although I still think for the general public there will be confusion on Grand National day that the race is not on BBC anymore.
What the **** was that? If that is meant to promote the Grand National then I think it's disgusting. Horses galloping down a road - cruel. Horses jumping into a greenhouse, probably getting cut to shreds - cruel. The rest - just stupid. Sorry folks but that was just dreadful.
Im not a fan of the grand national, and never really have been. I personally would be quite happy if they scrapped the race. There are fatalities every year, and there really is no need for it. I've been watching and enjoying racing since the early 80s, and I'd miss the Guineas, the derby, the KG, The Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle or the Champion Chase. Would I miss the National? Not at all. It's nothing more than a glorified handicap to me, that causes countless fatalities. The thing that annoys me the most though, are the hipocritical once a year punters who bet on the race, and then see the fatalities, and then have the cheek to stary moaning about it. Well if you idiots didn't come out every year laying out your £2, then we wouldn't need to have this cruel, barbaric race
I think it is important to appreciate the remit the film makers were given, and the audience to which Channel 4 is trying to reach out. They are clearly not trying to impress us lot, who will be watching anyway. They are trying to reach out to a younger audience with the "extreme sport" reference and the music, and I quite like the idea of super-imposing the images of horses onto everyday city scenes. I agree the fall into the greenhouse was poorly though out but, in terms of trying to do what C4 want, the film hits the mark. The BBC would have had slow-motion images of Aldaniti jumping Beechers Brook with classical music in the background which would have switched more people off than on.
wasnt really true to life,,,,,,, all the horses came back with their shoes on,, you drive round liverpool (its true ask red) you loose at least one wheel cap !!!!!! seriously,,, it wasnt aimed at us really was it, its like KS said they want the £2 betters to realise its on the trendy C4, As an advert for the Grand National poor, as an Advert to tell the hollyoaks brigade its now on C4, not bad
Aren't they missing the point? The GN is the peoples race and it won't matter if you spend money on marketing it or not, people will tune in to see how their sweepstake horse gets on? The advert is stale, it doesn't give any form of excitement, its just noise on a blanket of turgid imagery. If they want to excite they should have shown footage of Devon Loch, Crisp/Red Rum and then last years head bobber. That with a Six Nations style voice over would excite any audience. The drama, the peoples race.
Not exactly cutting edge though is it Nass? As I mentioned above, that might appeal to us lot on here but they have a very different target group. It's all about the sell.
It didn't excite me and the greenhouse shot was definitely a mistake. One other innovation that Channel 4 are doing though is to have a Grand National Come Dine With Me special. This might attract more people to watch the race than this advert - as it will be a whole programme on at primetime with racing personalities on it. I have also found out that Emma Spencer will be one of the contestants I have mixed feelings about the Grand National as I probably wouldn't have got into racing without watching it. However now I just see it as a stupidly long handicap race where there is a good chance of a fatality and I wonder if it does racing more harm than good. It is a shame that for a lot of people the Grand National is what racing is all about. It is frustrating that on Grand National day last year there were wins for Simonsig, Sprinter Sacre and Oscar Whisky - all fantastic adverts for NH racing. Yet for the general public the only race that mattered that day was the Grand National - a race which saw the Gold Cup winner suffer a fatal injury.
Well, it's taking the sport out of it's normal context in an attempt to bring across the speed, power and grace of a horse in a different environment. Unless you've ever stood by a NH fence it is pretty difficult to imagine how high and far the horse is jumping. By putting parked cars in there you give it some perspective for those less familiar with the sport. I'm no art buff but it's an oft used technique - taking an object out of its normal environment to emphasise something about the object - a bit like a dead dog in a bowl of fruit or a naked person in a crowded high street.
I am sure the BBC did something very similar come to think of it, for last years coverage? We have also seen jockeys dressed in finery for Royal Ascot and the like. If they wanted to make it spectacular, they should have gone down the road of Warhorse the musical with one of the epic Grand Nationals being played out by dramatic props. I think the advert is old hat, and tat at that. So much style over substance.
I didn’t see the promo I’m afraid as ‘Midsomer Murders’ was on the other side and it had just reached a crucial point so decided not to change channels. If it was simply horses running through gardens though it doesn’t sound as if one missed much! I’ve never been a huge fan of the GN and if I’m totally honest think it has passed its ‘sell-by’ date. It might survive to the end of the present decade in its current form but beyond that I would doubt it. The GN has been referred to in the popularist media as ‘the death race’ in its past couple of renewals and I certainly can’t see it going on much longer if fatalities remain on a par with both 2011 and 2012. It will always have its ‘apologists’ who scream ‘got to keep it, what what, part of our heritage, old boy’ but quite frankly so is slavery, public executions and a ridiculous monarchy and we got rid off those years ago (oh hold on 2 out of 3 we did). As I’ve said before I think Channel 4’s new ‘team’ since the turn of the year has been Bland with a capital ‘B’ but lets hope things change with the advent of the new Flat season.
