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Creative BBC Six Nation

BBC asks 'Who Blinks First?' to promote Six Nations coverage

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By Imogen Watson, Senior reporter

January 31, 2020 | 2 min read

With the 2020 Six Nations games kicking off this weekend, the BBC is drumming up some national pride to promote its shared-coverage of the tournament with ITV.

BBC

The 'Who Blinks First?' campaign is designed to capture the competition's unpredictable nature and high-pressure stakes.

Shot on location, the portraits feature all six captains: Owen Farrell (England), Alun Wyn Jones (Wales), Johnny Sexton (Ireland), Stuart Hogg – (Scotland), Luca Bigi (Italy) and Charles Ollivon (France).

Starting directly down the lens, each refuses to blink - a tense standoff that sets the pulse racing for the kick-off this weekend.

The films were shot by Alex Telfer on location at sites such as Murrayfield in Edinburgh and along with the TV launch, the campaign will also run across digital out-of-home, social media and radio.

James Parry, head of marketing (BBC Sport and Events), said: “We wanted the ‘Who Blinks First?’ films to get fans excited for the return of the Six Nations. It was also important to us that the campaign grabbed the attention of audiences who are new to rugby – we hope the trails encourage them to discover for themselves why the Six Nations championship is loved by so many.”

James Cross, creative director at BBC Creative, added: "We wanted to make films that grab the audience’s attention and someone staring you down certainly does that. That, coupled with rousing renditions of rugby crowds singing their hearts out we hope will inspire support for each nation as well as capturing the excitement of the Championship in a way that’s never been done before."

BBC: Who Blinks First? by BBC Creative

By BBC

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