UK’s ‘audacious Kingdom’ campaign drops ball
Once upon a time the UK had the Central Office of Information handling government and other institutional advertising. Mostly it worked pretty well.
Now it’s in the charge of the Cabinet Office, a smoky outfit that’s supposed to make government run more efficiently (the jury’s still a long way out on this one.)
Its latest effort is ‘audacious Kingdom,’ a bid to promote the UK to the French (why?) timed for the Rugby World Cup that begins tonight. A joint effort from Unlimited and Pablo (you may be surprised it took two of them.) Part of the UK Gov’s ‘Great’ campaign.
And why does ‘kingdom’ (in the social) take a capital anyway? It doesn’t unless you’re talking ‘Kingdom of God.’ A bit of brown-nosing to HRH probably.
Anyway there’s lots social (featuring marathon runner Jake Barraclough running through France) and events, all of which will doubtless wow the French (know how easily impressed they are..)
‘Audacious’ refers to William Webb Ellis, the famous cheater who picked up a football and ran with it at Rugby school. Sort of thing Boris Johnson would do.
Let Joe Williams of the Cabinet Office explain further: “The Audacious Run has been the perfect launch moment for our ‘Great’ campaign in France, and I couldn’t be more proud of the teams that have helped pull this project together.
“Jake’s Herculean, William Webb Ellis-inspired running effort has captured our daring, unconventional spirit, and will kickstart a series of activations across France designed to showcase the best of the UK.”
Still not convinced? Pablo MD Harriet Knight says the campaign wis “not an ad but an act” to “noisily plant the flag of ‘The audacious Kingdom’ on French soil.”
That should ensure a warm welcome then.
Where do they get these ideas from?