BLACKPOOL ZOO’S TALL TALE ON GMTV

ICG PR sealed more national TV coverage for client Blackpool Zoo, when GMTV chose its idea for the show’s annual April Fools joke.

A spoof recruitment drive at the zoo, for giraffe keepers that are over 6ft 2inches tall, was devised and put to the programme, who loved it! The wind and rain didn’t dampen spirits and an afternoon’s filming in Giraffe Heights with presenter Matt Arnold was all it took to fool the nation. Marketing and PR Coordinator at the zoo, Jude Rothwell, took the position of official zoo spokesperson and three members of ICG’s team put their acting skills to the test. Managing Director Denise Dawson became a lawyer for the afternoon whilst Commercial Director Peter Cobley and Marketing and PR Manager Paula Holden stepped in as applicants that didn’t quite meet the required height. Another ICG client, Freightlink, was drafted in and Office Manager Lee Rossall joined Peter and Paula wearing an ‘I Love Giraffes’ t-shirt. Viewers were invited to visit the GMTV website to view an extended version of the footage and either apply for the position or sign a petition against ‘heightism’. When either of the links were clicked a message flashed up to say it was an April Fool’s Joke. Managing Director at ICG, Denise Dawson, said: “Our work with Blackpool Zoo is always fun and the GMTV April Fool joke slot was an added bonus. “Finding people that were 6ft 2 inches or more was a challenge to say the least, but we pulled it off with Keith Tasker, a 6ft 5 inch architecture student, Alex Robertson, a 6ft 2 inch drama student and a very tall Richard Halstead, Operations Manager at neighbouring attraction the Sandcastle Waterpark. “Despite the rain filming went smoothly and we were all tuned in to see our acting debuts on Thursday morning.” Jude Rothwell, Marketing and PR Coordinator at Blackpool Zoo added: “There was a real buzz round the zoo for the week leading up to filming, with lots of hushed conversation taking place so that no one else found out what was being planned. “It was all very tongue in cheek and we were delighted with the coverage.” The news item was aired on GMTV every half an hour as the ‘and finally’ news piece from 6.00am until 9.00am on April 1st and a specially extended version of the filming was put on the GMTV website. -ENDS- Notes to editors: • Blackpool Zoo is owned by Parques Reunidos, the second largest European leisure parks operator and a leading world wide player. • Blackpool Zoo is home to over 1,500 mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates set amidst thirty-two acres of mature woodland and lakes. The zoo’s signature animals include elephants, giraffes, big cats, gorillas, orangutans, sea lions, primates, zebras and kangaroos. • Blackpool Zoo is open every day from 10am. Blackpool Zoo, East Park Drive, Blackpool, FY3 8PP. Tel: 01253 830830.

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