A flock of fame-hungry sheep in the South East is to become the latest in low-technology advertising. The Texel-cross sheep have been ‘recruited’ by thetrainline.com to promote the fact that rail passengers can now save on average 43% by booking their tickets on the website. (This is the average saving when buying in advance at thetrainline.com versus buying at the station on the day of travel.) These prototype ‘billboards’ will be trialled just past Dorking Station and are visible from onboard trains on the Gatwick Airport to Reading line.
A new, associated advertising campaign for thetrainline.com was launched yesterday; it was shot in Wellington Station, New Zealand, and features 40 sheep who spent a month being trained by the sheep handler from the film ‘Babe’. The sheep were taught, among other things, how to “baa” on demand, step out of taxis and read newspapers. No computer generated imagery was used to manipulate their actions – just their favourite treat of digestive biscuits!
