Taxis in London and trains in major German cities will soon be joining the effort to advertise the Athens Olympics , as Greece enters the final leg of preparations for the world’s premier athletic event in August. Striving to promote Greece as the ideal place to attend the Olympics and have a great holiday, the Greek Tourist Organization (EOT) launched its worldwide campaign in December.
As part of the drive, 100 London cabs and 415 buses have been charted to be converted into moving kiosks with banners bidding Londoners to get "on your marks, get set, visit Greece". Greek cuisine , a long-standing attraction for the tourism industry, will also seek to entice commuters. “Passengers aboard wagon restaurants on German trains will be served Greek food throughout February,” General Secretary for Tourism, Kostas Botopoulos, told GreeceNow.
World record holders
Acting wisely, advertisers chose not to confine the campaign solely to the country’s ancient appeal but to also pick from what modern Greece purports to offer, golden beaches, scenic corners and lots of heart-felt hospitality. “The campaign will focus on Greece’s ancient history , as well as its modern appeal as a tourist destination,” said EOT’s Director of Managing and Promotion Iirini Frangiadaki.
Employing the theme of records, each plug promotes Greece as a record holder in sightseeing, cuisine, colour, charm and as a tourist destination. “World record attempt on most courses at lunch,” reads, for instance, one poster extolling the proverbial large number of dishes on a Greek table at lunchtime. Hospitality, on the other hand, is promoted through another poster bearing a smiling young woman and the slogan “European record for the widest smile”.
“Greece has been breaking records for centuries,” the advertisements also proclaim. Moreover, with the evocative “Athens 2004: There’s no place like home” underlining the banners, organisers are also trumping up Greece’s historic link to the Olympics. The return of the games to their ancient and modern birthplace ( 1896 modern revival of the Games was also held in Athens) was a key theme in the Athens 2004 Olympics bid.
Meet the press
The campaign trail was joined by major media outlets last December. 30-second spots on international television networks, such as CNN International , the BBC World , Euronews and Eurosport , highlight, throughout the day, Greece’s attractions via powerful imagery of sunshine, crystal clear turquoise sea and ancient monuments.
More specifically, one of the spots ends with a yacht set in an idyllic sea where Greece is depicted as the place where someone can set a “new record in completely forgetting about work”. While another, plugs yet again the message of the Games returning home.
In printed media, major papers around the world, such as the Los Angeles Times , the Guardian , The Times and Le Monde , are already carrying full-page Athens 2004 ads with similar focal points. What’s more, Greek tourist authorities are scheduled take the seat of honour in terms of promotion at upcoming tourism exhibitions around the globe, including the New York Travel Show on February 27-29.
Thus, organizers hope that by August, when the campaign wraps up, visitors will be convinced that they’ll have their “best time yet” during this Olympic summer.
