THE GRAND NATIONAL
‘DARE TO DREAM’
Client: ITV
Role: Creative Lead / Concept / Scriptwriter
Brief:
The brief centred on the historic achievement of the previous year’s winner, Rachael Blackmore. As the first female jockey to win the Grand National, her story provided a powerful opportunity to build anticipation for the following year’s race, while broadening its appeal and attracting a new generation of audiences.
Insight:
The Grand National has a unique ability to make everyone feel like victory is within reach. From the jockey chasing glory to the punter backing a long shot, we all share the same dream 'to win the National'.
Creative Idea:
We placed Rachael at the heart of the campaign, using the emotional power of her historic victory as a springboard to inspire this year’s competitors and audiences to ‘Dare To Dream’.
The film sees Rachael close her eyes and relive the defining moments of last year’s race. We build the tension through the thunder of galloping hooves, the rising roar of the crowd and the unmistakable excitement of the final stretch, with the commentary from her historic victory echoing around her. The emotion builds and builds until Rachel finally opens her eyes...realising that what she was dreaming of is reality.
Rather than simply retelling Rachael’s historic win, the creative recreated the emotional experience of it...capturing the anticipation, pressure and ultimate euphoria of winning the Grand National. This gave us a powerful emotional platform from which to inspire audiences to imagine themselves achieving their own impossible win.
The campaign demonstrated how a culturally significant sporting moment could be transformed into a human, emotionally driven creative idea, using a recognisable sporting story to create a broader connection with audiences beyond the race itself.
