Smirnoff goes for impact with 60-foot high Imax ad

Carlton Screen Advertising is offering the new Imax package, which will give advertisers solus positioning on the three screens in the UK.

Smirnoff screened an ad that has already appeared on UK television. The "if Smirnoff made trunks" spot by J Walter Thompson shows a dolphin trainer stepping up when his charges refuse to perform a show at Seaworld. Carat handles media for Smirnoff.

Philip Gladman, brand director at Diageo, said: "The Smirnoff brand prides itself on being audacious, unexpected and intelligent and we are constantly looking at new directions designed to bring that brand philosophy to life."

Carlton Screen Advertising will expand the Imax package to three more screens in 2004 with launches in Bristol, Birmingham and Belfast. It is also looking at increasing the package to cover 36 sites in Europe and possibly North America.

The format was traditionally reserved for specially made documentaries, but new technology means that films shot in 35mm for general release can now be transferred to the Imax format. The second part of the Matrix trilogy was the first feature film to be released in the UK on Imax, and attracted large audiences, 47% of whom had never visited one of the theatres before.

James Dobbin, account director of sponsorship and promotions at Carlton Screen Advertising, said: "With Imax technology, nothing else exists in the viewer's visual field, making an Imax advert possibly the most impactful in the world."

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This article was first published on brandrepublic.com