Nissan pranks top Team GB & ParalympicsGB stars ahead of Rio 2016 opening ceremony

2016/08/04

Nissan pranks top Team GB & ParalympicsGB stars ahead of Rio 2016 opening ceremony

• Team GB & ParalympicsGB medal hopefuls, including Katarina Johnson Thompson and Richard Whitehead MBE, appear in the ‘#DoItForUs’ campaign  airing on UK TV at 20.45 BST, Friday 5^th August  
• Nissan - Official Automotive Partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB – pranked athletes during Team GB’s Kitting Out at Birmingham NEC and ParalympicsGB’s Team Launch in London
• Actors posing as Nissan sponsorship executives encouraged athletes to feature the 100% electric Nissan LEAF and the Nissan brand more prominently during their performance in Rio
• #DoItForUs campaign designed to bring fans closer to the Games by giving unexpected, behind-the-scenes access to athletes

London, 5 August 2016 -  With the Rio 2016 Olympic Games opening ceremony just hours away, Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd, Official Automotive Partner of the British Olympic Association (BOA) and British Paralympic Association (BPA), has been having some fun with some of the nation’s biggest medal hopefuls.

The ‘#DoItForUs’ campaign, which will launch with a 90” TV commercial (TVC) roadblock across ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky this evening, reveals how Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes, including Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Heptathlon) and Richard Whitehead MBE (Athletics), fared when pranked by two Nissan Global Sponsorship ‘executives’, keen to get more return on their sponsorship investment.

The two executives played by actors and filmed on hidden cameras, approached athletes with their suggestions on how they could feature the Nissan brand more prominently during their event at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Not content with just sponsoring the British teams, the executives shared their own recommendations on how they could sponsor every element of their performance.

Amongst many of Nissan’s  recommendations are that Max Whitlock (gymnastics) holds his breath to communicate the Nissan LEAF’s Zero Emissions, and Richard Whitehead MBE (athletics) makes a Nissan LEAF start-up sound before his event. Rather like Mo Farah’s famous ‘Mobot’, other British athletes were also asked if they would adopt the ‘N for Nissan’ sign or consider opening out their arms to ‘steer’ around the bend during their events.  The film captures the reactions of many famous faces to see how open they would be to supporting Nissan’s sponsorship.

The campaign film was shot during Team GB’s Kitting Out at the Birmingham NEC and ParalympicsGB’s Team Launch in London, ahead of the team’s departure to Rio. As well as launching via TVC’s on the evening of the Rio 2016 Olympic Opening Ceremony, the campaign will feature heavily across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube during the entirety of the games. The hero film will also feature as a Twitter ‘First View’ film, appearing on the Twitter feeds of all users of the channel for 24 hours on Friday 5^th August.  The film was edited by Anthony Boys, and starred Gareth Kane and Kirsty Dillon.

Two teaser films featuring Sir Chris Hoy and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson also launched via Nissan’s social media channels earlier this week, encouraging British athletes to get involved with Nissan’s sponsorship requests. A campaign hashtag #DoItForUs will also reveal a bespoke medal emoji when used on Twitter.

Jim Wright, Managing Director, Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd, added: “Nissan is incredibly proud of its work with the BOA and BPA, and in the build up to the Rio 2016 Games we have been dedicated to bringing the British public closer to the team, in an exciting and playful way. All of the athletes involved in the filming proved what  great sports they are and we wish them the very best of luck during the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The campaign was created and produced by Red Bee, with Fuse Sport + Entertainment running Nissan’s Team GB and ParalympicsGB partnership with media strategy, planning and buying through Manning Gottlieb OMD.

The Nissan LEAF 30KwH starts from £25,230, more information about the LEAF and other Nissan products can be found at https://www.nissan.co.uk/vehicles/new-vehicles.html

The campaign videos can also be viewed from the following links:

Nissan: Proud sponsors of TeamGB and Paralympics GB athletes: https://youtu.be/HQqpVMFnpjs
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson’s message to Rio 2016 athletes: https://youtu.be/Bat1U2tnLck
Sir Chris Hoy’s message to Rio 2016 athletes: https://youtu.be/-j8EDrC9KJk

- ENDS -

NOTES TO EDITORS

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Lucy Goss, Partnership and Events Manager, Nissan GB

Telephone: +441923 899 937 / +447813 993 175  

Email: lucy.goss@nissan.co.uk 

AGENCY CREDITS:

Creative & production – Red Bee

Sponsorship – Fuse Sport + Entertainment

Media strategy, planning and buying – Manning Gottlieb OMD

Nissan and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

The ‘Do It for Nissan’ campaign is just one of a number of other Nissan Rio related activities in the build-up to the Games, including the exclusive Nissan Gold Leaf, Nissan’s Ultimate Sports Day, the Nissan Olympic fleet announcement, Usain Bolt vs Fire campaign. 

• To find out more about the Nissan Gold Leaf visit: http://www.newsroom.nissan-europe.com/uk/en-gb/Media/Media.aspx?mediaid=148385
• To find out more about Nissan’s Dream Sports Day visit: http://www.newsroom.nissan-europe.com/uk/en-gb/Media/Media.aspx?mediaid=147649
• To find out more about Nissan’s Rio fleet deal visit: http://nissannews.com/en/rio-2016/releases/comit-organizador-rio-2016-recebe-oficialmente-da-nissan-a-frota-de-autom-veis-que-ser-o-usados-nos-jogos-ol-mpicos-e-paral-mpicos-rio-2016
• To find out more about Usain Bolt’s video visit: http://www.newsroom.nissan-europe.com/uk/en-gb/Media/Media.aspx?mediaid=147904

About Nissan in the UK

• Nissan Sunderland Plant produces the Nissan Qashqai, Note and Juke and the 100% electric Nissan LEAF
• Production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles began in 2012
• Total plant volume since 1986 stands at more than seven million units with 80 per cent of production exported to 100 markets worldwide
• Total investment made and announced since then is over £3.5 billion
• 500,237 units were produced at Sunderland plant in 2014
• In 2014, one in three cars built in the UK was a Nissan
• Sunderland Plant currently employs more than 6,700 people
• Nissan's European Design Centre is located in Paddington, London and employs around 65 people
• Nissan's European Technical Centre is based in Cranfield, Bedfordshire and employs around 1,000 people
• Nissan’s sales and marketing headquarters in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire employs around 190 people

About Nissan in Europe

Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 17,600 staff across locally-based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. Last financial year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 675,000 vehicles including award-winning crossovers, small cars, SUVs, commercial vehicles and electric vehicles, including the Nissan LEAF, the world's most popular electric vehicle with 96% of customers willing to recommend the car to friends. Nissan now offers a strong line-up of 23 diverse and innovative models in Europe under the Nissan and Datsun brands.