Atout France is announcing the launch of its new 'France as a modern tale' video. The video is a new twist on the classic fairy tale Cinderella. The video embodies key French destinations and pays homage to classic French hallmarks such as style, elegance, fashion and romance. The 1m40s long video is hosted on the Atout France homepage on uk.france.fr. The video will be distributed online.

Behind the story

The film tells the modern story of one of the most famous fairy tales Cinderella. Unbeknown to many, Cinderella is the creation of the French writer Charles Perrault.  By taking a classic fairy tale and interpreting it in a contemporary way, Atout France portrays a tale that reflects modern France through creativity, historical background, elegance and style.

By using a glamorous Parisian setting, using contemporary French designers and luxury standards, synonymous with France and using subtle symbols, the film sets itself apart as a unique and original destination video.

Watch the video in full: http://uk.france.fr/

Partners and symbolism

Throughout the story telling and Cinderella's journey, the film incorporates key French partner destinations in a subtle and evocative way. This is achieved by carefully using renowned destination symbols and brand associations placed throughout the story.

By portraying French hallmarks and destination associations, values such as culture and history, literature, food and wine, fashion and luxury aspire to appeal to British travellers.

French destination partners involved and its associations are as follows:
Paris – Iconic luxury setting
Lyon – Festival of light
Toulouse – Known as the pink city
Bordeaux – Wine production
Alsace – Gastronomy
Provence – Flowers of Provence
Champagne – Champagne production
Alps-Mont Blanc – Mountains, snow, winter sports
French Riviera – Glamour
Biarritz – France's leading surfing destination
Normandy – Historical France such as the D-day landing beaches
Brittany – The Breton stripes and shirts

Behind the scenes

The video is directed by Eric Beaupré - a Canadian filmmaker and graphic designer and Laure Bernard - a French photographer and director. Both reside in Paris. Eric and Laure were inspired by French luxury brands, fashion photography campaigns and their artistic vision echoing whimsical romanticism and a poetic mood.

The video was shot at famous Plaza Athénée Palace in Paris.

The video is hosted online on uk.france.fr, Atout France's YouTube channel and will be boosted via Atout France's social media channels and sponsored posts.

'What's your Tour de France?' Campaign

The film comes on the back of the launch of the 2016 edition of the 'What's your Tour de France?' campaign. Now in its third year the aim of the campaign is to increase awareness and strengthen the image of France in the UK, through placed creative elements such as print advertising and London tube and escalator panels. Three radio spots were played on four radio stations across the South West of England between 14 – 27 March 2016.

Furthermore the objective is to drive traffic on to the uk.france.fr website. As per previous years the regular france.fr website has been completely dedicated to the campaign and this year the site has received a re-design, this now stands out with a strong visual look and humorous and enticing category labels. Emphasis has been placed on engaging and carefully chosen images, which first of all aims to inspire visitors and to redirect to partner websites.

There are approx. 70 destinations involved in the campaign and four main carriers: Brittany Ferries, PO Ferries, DFDS Seaways, and Voyages sncf.com. New partners for 2016 are Disneyland Paris, Novasol and Eurolines

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Note to Editors

• Full length video: 1m40s. A shorter 30 second version will be used as a teaser and distributed online
• Full biographies on video directors are available upon request
• The 'What's your tour de France?' campaign launched on 14 March and will run until the end of June

About  Atout France
Atout France - France Tourism Development Agency,  is responsible for promoting the development of the tourism industry, the country's largest economic sector. Atout France's primary mission is to maintain a detailed and permanent system for monitoring and analysing supply and demand in the tourist market.  Atout France is also committed to promoting destinations and works with its partners to further tourism in France. This is achieved through marketing campaigns, online promotion and working closely with the travel trade sector. Atout France works in partnership with public and private organisations and companies involved in the tourism industry both in France and within UK & Ireland. Atout France develops its missions internationally through a network of 35 offices located in 32 countries. Atout France is represented in the UK and Ireland from its office in London, which employs 16 staff.