Hugh Grant to star in new Guardian and Observer ad campaign

Actor and press reformer Hugh Grant is to star in a new advert promoting The Guardian and The Observer weekend supplements.

The advert is described by The Guardian as “tongue-in-cheek” and will “appear in a commercial shot like a movie trailer for a spoof Jerry Bruckheimer film, the US producer behind hits such as Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, Con Air and Pirates of the Caribbean”.

The ad campaign will include cinema, press, posters and escalator panels on the London Underground and online advertising.

An article on The Guardian said Grant had not been paid for his appearance in the new campaign, which was developed by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, the agency behind last year's Three Little Pigs TV ad.

The chief commercial officer at Guardian News and Media, David Pemsel, said:

We wanted to continue last year's marketing successes by experimenting with a new, bold approach to January marketing in 2013.

We're delighted to have Hugh Grant on board, helping us create a fun and irreverent style which taps into the spirit of our weekend papers.