Hong Kong, May 2001 - Following on from the success of Mandarin Oriental’s US$5 million print advertising campaign that was launched in 2000, the luxury hotel group is pleased to announce the addition of international sporting celebrity Lance Armstrong, to be featured as a continuation of its renowned “He’s A Fan/She’s a Fan” campaign in 2002.

Three-time winner of the Tour de France, Armstrong joins Mandarin Oriental’s existing fans, including Minnie Driver and her film director sister Kate; Martin Sheen, Michelle Yeoh, Jane Seymour, Whoopi Goldberg, Zubin Mehta, Elle MacPherson, Jerry Hall, Vanessa Mae, Dame Edna Everage, Frederick Forsyth, Patrick Lichfield and David Tang.
The campaign simply and elegantly connects the Group’s well-recognized symbol - the fan - with international celebrities who regularly stay at the hotels and consider themselves to be fans of the Group. Each of the celebrities were photographed by world-famous photographer and royal, Patrick Lichfield, in a location of their choice which, for them, best represents a feeling of well-being. In appreciation of their support, the Group has made donations to each celebrity’s individual choice of charity. 

The advertising campaign, which is aimed at significantly increasing the Group`s brand awareness globally, was developed by M&C Saatchi Hong Kong.
The selection of media, planned and negotiated through Carat Asia Pacific, is designed to reflect the luxurious quality of the advertising. Global lifestyle, travel and fashion titles have been chosen on the strength of the relationship each publication has with a select group of affluent readers with a high propensity to travel. Whilst titles have been bought in key markets worldwide, a significant proportion of the expenditure is focused in The Americas, where a large percentage of Mandarin Oriental’s guests are based and where the Group continues to progress solidly with its expansion strategy. Currently, Mandarin Oriental operates six hotels in North America with a further two under development. In addition, this year the Group has expanded its campaign using foreign language headlines into Germany and France in luxury titles.

In the baseline of each advertisement, the reader is directed towards the Group`s website www.mandarinoriental.com to “find out why [the fan] is a fan” of Mandarin Oriental. “.
” We are delighted with the campaign and believe it makes a strong statement about our Group in a simple and luxurious manner. By focusing on celebrities who clearly appreciate the finer things in life, we have been able to show the quality of our hotels in a far more interesting way than traditional hotel advertising “, said Jill Kluge, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group`s Director of Communications.

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