Channel 4 s biggest ever marketing campaign promoted the London 2012 Paralympic Games with its Meet the Superhumans film across 78 television channels, aiming to introduce a new audience to the Paralympics and raise awareness of Paralympic sport.
Set to the track, Harder Than You Think by Public Enemy, the film showcases the feats of the UK s top Paralympians, as well as revealing some of the unique backstories of previously unknown athletes and their phenomenal training in preparation for the Games. The shoot took place over two weeks in sports arenas across the country. The Channel 4 marketing campaign also utilised major outdoor poster, press and digital activity, including a poster campaign telling Usain Bolt and Mo Farah “thanks for the warm-up”.
Conceived and directed by Tom Tagholm, the film features sometimes shocking images – a bomb blast, a car crash – and its fast-paced emotionally charged nature that make us change our perspective. We see that the athletes are something more, rather than something less, than normal athletes. The words “Meet the superhumans” reinforce this new perspective.
It s success was revealed when more than 11 million people tuned in for the opening ceremony one of the best audience figures in Channel 4 s history. The campaign swept the board at the Promax Awards and the British Television Advertising Awards, as well as the Campaign of the Year award by Campaign magazine.
