Rhod fronts £2m ad campaign
Comic promotes Welsh holidays
Stand-up Rhod Gilbert has been signed up to front a £2.2million campaign to encourage more visitors to Wales.The tourism drive is aimed at cash-strapped holidaymakers from the rest of the UK, who may be looking for a summer break closer to home because of the recession and weak pound.
In the 40-second advert, which will be aired on TV and at cinemas, Gilbert is shown building rafts, coasteering (clambering across rocks on the coast), taking a cookery lesson and sampling wine.
The comic, who will be appearing on the Royal Variety Performance on BBC One on Wednesday, said: ‘I’d done the voice-over for the Visit Wales ads so it seemed natural to go one step further and appear in them.
‘I don’t do ads as a rule but promoting Wales is an exception. And shooting it was great fun. It opened my eyes to just how much stuff there is to do in Wales.’
Welsh Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones said: ‘Economic uncertainty... is likely to make the market think harder and differently about their holiday choices. We could see a substitution of more expensive foreign holidays with UK holidays.’
The campaign launches next month.
Published: 15 Dec 2008
