The GREAT Britain campaign has been hailed as the most ambitious marketing campaign ever undertaken by the British government. Launched on the back of the success of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and the Olympic and Paralympics Games in 2012. The campaign has been used in over 60 countries around the world, and on Thursday arrived in Luxembourg with a splash of colour in the shape of a GREAT Mini with a Union Jack livery.

The Mini has toured Germany and ahead of a visit to the Saarland, ambassador Alice Walpole requested that it make a stopover in Luxembourg. Arriving in glorious sunshine, the Mini was photographed at a number of Luxembourg landmarks including the Philharmonie and the Gëlle Fra where city mayor Xavier Bettel posed with the car.

The government in the UK claims that early feedback from the campaign has been positive. “Analysis shows that our investment in the campaign to date is projected to help generate around a quarter of a billion pounds for the British economy over the next two years.” It is focused on showcasing what is great about British culture, heritage, countryside, sport, business, creativity, knowledge, enterprise, innovation, and greenness.

The ambassador welcomed guests to the afternoon tea, replete with sausage rolls and fairy cakes, in the gardens of the residence. The guest list included fellow diplomats, representatives of national and local Luxembourg government and public institutions as well as members of British clubs and associations in Luxembourg.

Walpole explained that the campaign was a very exciting and innovative approach to marketing and that its aim was to encourage tourism and inward investment and also attract students to come to the UK. She also told her audience that a lot of “famous bottoms” had graced the GREAT Mini’s seats, including Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York--fifth and sixth in line to the British throne--who drove the car through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to launch the campaign in January. The UK government has pledged a further 30 million pounds to the campaign to keep it going through 2013/14.

Guest speakers were asked to talk about an aspect that they felt made Britain “great” and included Ben Andrews of Ara City Radio, who gave a fine speech extoling the virtues of British popular music. Delano’s Duncan Roberts explained why he thought British magazine culture was so great. Guests were also treated to a selection of British music by the brass band of Perlé, who wore Union Jack ties especially for the occasion.