On July 1, BP returned to the British TV screens after a five-year break. The ad, created by Ogilvy & Mather, features BP’s sponsored athletes from the Olympics and Paralympics, including British track athlete Jessica Ennis and Paralympic runner Richard Whitehead. The athletes run in BP’s bio fields, as well as on field tracks, surrounded by cars.

The 30-second spot, which is to run throughout July shows BP’s commitment to ‘fuels of the future’, with the campaign strapline including: ‘London 2012 fuelling the future.’ The print and outdoor campaign is also foreseen.

After the oil spill in Mexican gulf the oil giant had its biggest trouncing ever and that’s why the campaign don’t run in the US. But that hasn’t stopped US magazine Ad Age keeping its readers, running the ad on their web site and asking, ‘What do you think?’. The first comment to come is quite positive and supportive of BP, says The drum.

Will Awdry, Ogilvy & Mather’s creative director, was behind the campaign, along with art director Darren Urquhart and copywriter Thomas Smith. The production company was Knucklehead and the ad was directed by Chris Hewitt. Media support came from the Mindshare media agency.

Duncan Blake, director of brand at BP, said: «We thought now people were in the mood to listen to message about the Olympics. We had to be thoughtful about the project and the brand, and to get the voice right. I’m confident people will see BP in a positive way.»