The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

Author

By The Drum Team, Editorial

November 11, 2009 | 2 min read

Manchester has today unveiled a £600,000 marketing campaign as it looks to entice Christmas shoppers to the city. Watch the TV ad here.

The campaign is spearheaded by a TV ad directed by Oscar and Bafta nominated director Barry Purves, which breaks on ITV1 tomorrow to tie in with the city's Christmas lights being switched on.

It also includes posters, press and radio ads and a specially-designed city centre map.

Cityco, the the organisation responsible for managing the city centre, commissioned the work in partnership with Manchester City Council, Marketing Manchester and the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive.

Developed by Manchester agencies, the campaign focuses on the city's retail and leisure offer and encourages viewers to "See what Manchester's made of".

The concept was created by Dinosaur, which designed the poster and press campaign and then worked with Amaze to transform it into a TV ad.

Purves' animated ad is designed to highlight the range of shops, leisure and entertainment venues in the city centre and position Manchester as the number one destination for anyone living upto an hour away.

It features more than 200 items borrowed and bought from Manchester stores - including a designer handbag, jelly beans, toy train, cocktails and a pair of shoes - which come to life and dance on screen.

The ad was produced by Loose Moose Productions and shot at the Hot Animation studios in Altrincham, Cheshire.

Kate Harrison, Cityco’s chief executive said: “This recession-busting campaign is exactly what’s needed to keep us ahead of the game in these challenging times. The marketing initiative allows us to tackle the competition head on, ensuring city centre businesses get the most out of the crucial Christmas period."

Dinosaur Amaze Twitter

More from Dinosaur

View all