mediaweek.co.uk

News International's most popular daily newspaper The Sun has launched an advertising campaign in the south east to promote its columnists and new discounted 20p cover price.

A series of outdoor and print ads by creative agency WCRS feature a portrait photograph of individual columnists along with copy lines that aim to capture their writing style.

The ads will run in the former Carlton TV region (London and surrounding counties). View the ads here.

Creative includes The Sun's political commentator Trevor Kavanagh towering over a House of Commons built from cards, with the strapline "King Among Jokers".

Another ad features the paper's outspoken former editor-turned-columnist Kelvin Mackenzie with the stapline "Fighting Talk", and another of controversial comic Frankie Boyle, under the banner "Leftfield Humour".

Rob Painter, marketing director for The Sun, said: "At The Sun we pride ourselves on investing in great writing talent that sets us apart from the crowd.

"By showcasing our columnists in this way, we can remind readers of the fantastic market-leading content they get every day in The Sun, for only 20p."

The Sun dropped its cover price to 20p earlier this month in the Carlton region. The move puts pressure on its red top rivals, The Daily Mirror, priced at 45p, and The Daily Star, priced at 20p.

Earlier this week, News International's flagship tabloid also slashed its cover price from 30p to 20p in the Central TV region, which encompasses Birmingham and Oxford.

It is unknown how long the aggressive price promotion will last. The News International title aims to boost its average net circulation, which has dropped below the three million mark three times in the past four months.

In the last newspaper circulation audit for February, the tabloid's circulation slipped 3.6% to 2,972,763.

The most recent ad campaign follow The Sun's 2009 'Big Opinions' football campaign that featured columnists Terry Venables, Ian Wright and Harry Redknapp.