Rossignol and the French ski resort of Val d’Isère are sponsoring a series of 100 shorts TV spots that have started to run on M6, a French music and entertainment TV channel, during prime-time viewing hours. Each short film features a different mountain personality, and Rossignol, which celebrated its 100th anniversary earlier this year, wants the campaign to reach other European countries by next year.
It wants to find a pan-European channel to take up the films, and considers Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy to be the most important markets. The clips are to be featured on TV in the USA during the Fall 2008 season.
The brand’s name appears in the opening shot but not during the film. Rossignol has spent half of its annual media budget on the project. It has been celebrating its anniversary over the past year by re-issuing a vintage collection of skis with coordinated apparel. Photos celebrating its history travelled in a Rossignol van on a road-show to events organized by various retail partners in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy and France. A website dedicated to the anniversary carries films and photos highlighting the history of the brand (www.100years.rossignol-europe.com). It now features an international contest open to the public for the best home-made mountain video.
