Great Western Railway (GWR) is aming to bring its heritage into the present day, with a new campaign designed to reignite audience appeal through the timeless power of myths and storytelling.
The latest ad in the award-winning Famous Five series, created with Adam & Eve\TBWA and first launched in 2017, draws inspiration from GWR’s 1920s publicity campaigns, when the company first used myths and legends to promote travel to an emerging tourism market.
By unearthing this archive, GWR is attempting to reconnect modern leisure travellers with the myths, legends and landscapes that have long defined the region.
The multi-channel campaign launches this week with a 60-second film directed by Oscar- and Bafta-winning director and animator Peter Baynton, best known for The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse and packed with voiceovers from Richard E Grant, Ambika Mod, Andi Osho and Jan Francis.
The ‘Five and the Dragon Quest’ film aims to boost leisure travel on the GWR network, which covers the south-west of England and Wales, including destinations like Cardiff, Penzance, Bath and Oxford.
It follows the Famous Five on their quest across the Great Western Railway network, determined to solve the mystery of a dragon which has been spotted flying in the skies across the region. Unsurprisingly, the train is the quickest way to get around – much better than the cars that all seem to be stuck in traffic jams. It ends with the tagline: “Great Western Railway – legendary adventures start here.”
GWR sales and marketing director Amanda Burns said: “This campaign shows the Famous Five still have plenty of legendary adventures to share. The best storytelling doesn’t just entertain – it sparks curiosity and inspires people to explore.
“The campaign is rooted in the myths and legends of the South West and Wales – the very communities our railway has connected for generations.
“We’re celebrating the character of the regions we serve and bringing those stories to a new audience, who we know have a significant and widespread interest in myths and legends.”
With a new media approach from WPP Media’s Mindshare, the film runs across cinema, TV and VOD to deliver scale and emotional impact, while radio executions delve deeper into regional folklore, bringing local legends to life in the listener’s imagination.
Out-of-home placements show the Famous Five within landscapes tied to the very myths they explore, creating relevance across the network. A broad social rollout extends the narrative through bespoke vignette films, spotlighting specific legends and destinations to ignite inspiration for leisure travel among distinct audience cohorts.
In the most integrated approach yet, the GWR in-house communications team working with VCCP Roar, will also continue to bring more activity to life as the campaign progresses.
Adam & Eve\TBWA group executive creative director Ben Tollett said: “The Famous Five are brought bang up to date with this foray into fantasy fiction. Can four children and a dog save the nation from a rampaging mythical beast? Highly unlikely. Unless, of course, they get some help from Great Western Railway.”
WPP Media’s Mindshare’s Fleur Stoppani added: “Our approach was to meet audiences in the moments they’re most open to inspiration – from the immersive impact of cinema to the trusted weekend paper and the contextual power of out-of-home. By aligning channel strengths with storytelling, we’ve created a journey that moves people emotionally and commercially.”
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