ASPIRE launches first time campaign on CNN International

It is the first time that the Academy for Sports Excellence has sponsored a segment on CNN.

The campaign which is made up of two components, the sponsorship of World Sport's 'Play of the Day' and a series of editorial vignettes entiteld 'Sporting Legends', is the first of its kind to be aired on CNN.

"Sporting Legends" highlights four icons in the world of Sports, in particular swimming, tennis, football, and athletics. Australian Ian Thorpe is showcased in the swimming category, the tennis segment features Pete Sampras, football is represented by Dutch footballer Johann Cruyffand and athletics with the Moroccan runner Hicham El Gejjourj.

The year-long campaign can be seen in more than 110 million households and hotel rooms on CNN's Europe, Middle East and African feed.

Neil Duncanson, Communications Manager of ASPIRE, said, "The ASPIRE mission is to transform aspiring athletes in to world renown champions and we need this message to reach as many people as possible. Our agreement with CNN will allow us to reach a global audience, and enable us to unearth the best possible raw talent and sculpt them for stardom. While Sporting Legends will showcase heroes past and present, ASPIRE will create the heroes of the future. Our partnership with CNN dovetails perfectly."

"We are delighted that Aspire has chosen CNN as the main platform on which to advertise its campaign," said Rani Raad, Vice President, CNN International Advertising Sales, Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa. "This is the first time that a sports academy advertises on CNN and we are delighted to have been able to offer Aspire a bespoke solution to communicate their messages to a global audience. This is the first campaign of its kind to air on CNN and we are proud to continue spearheading tailored communications solutions for clients," added Raad.

World Sports airs daily on CNN at 1030, 1530 and 0030 CET Monday to Sunday, with an additional airing at 2230 Tuesday to Friday.