This Backpack Billboard Invites You to Race Across the World

In a bold and brilliantly bonkers stunt, BBC Creative has turned influencer Morgan James into a human-sized ad campaign - by strapping a giant 48-sheet billboard to his back and sending him hiking across East Sussex.

This unusual campaign marks the launch of the new season of Race Across the World, BBC’s hit travel reality series. Impossible to miss, the oversized backpack-billboard was designed to reflect the extreme journeys contestants face in the show.

Dave Monk, creative director on the project said, “This season of Race Across the World our contestants were really out of their comfort zone, so we thought, why don’t make an ad that pushes someone out of theirs… thus we strapped a massive billboard to some poor influencer and sent him off an a little hike.”

Morgan carried his backpack through beautiful open fields in East Sussex in an attempt to climb up the famous chalk drawing of the long man of Wilmington, all the while being filmed by the teams at Mother Brown Films, studioBeam and BBC Creative. With a bit of help, he reached the top and was rewarded with an incredible view and a well-earned sit down.

The resulting film is now live across BBC and Morgan’s social channels. Fans can also catch the latest season of Race Across the World on BBC One and iPlayer.

But that’s not all…

BBC Creative has also partnered with innovative designer @shoesbystella to create a one-of-a-kind pair of trainers, engineered specifically for globe-trotting. Though not available to the show’s contestants (who must travel without these kind of luxuries), these concept shoes are designed to make the trip of a lifetime a little more comfortable, with a built-in compass, torch, mosquito repellent, and detachable ear plugs for those noisy sleeper trains.