UK daily The Sun has launched a new print and outdoor advertising campaign touting its columnists and its lower cover price in the south east region, MarketingWeek reported yesterday.

The campaign was designed to promote the News International tabloid's lower cover price of 20 pence, down from 30 pence, as well as to capture the different writing styles of its columnists, according to MarketingWeek. Each ad features an iconic portrait photograph of a columnist along with a short tagline that reflects that writer's unique style.

The promotional pricing offered by The Sun puts pressure on its rivals, The Daily Mirror, priced at 45p and The Daily Star at 20p, according to MediaWeek. While circulation revenues are declining overall for the UK newspaper industry, the News International tile aims to increase its readership by offering promotional pricing in different regions. The latest slash in cover price will be seen in the Central TV region encompassing Birmingham and Oxford, with the title priced at 20p from 30p.

However, the time span for this aggressive promotional pricing strategy remains indefinite.

The daily has seen a fall in circulation, thrice over the past 4 months below the 3million mark, and the recent ABC audit for February indicates a circulation decline by 3.6 percent to 2,972,763, MediaWeek reported.

Some of the columnists portrayed include political commentator Trevor Kavanagh as "King Among Jokers," TV critic Ally Ross as "TV Anarchist," Jane Moore as "Opinions With Balls," "Fighting Talk" for Kelvin Mackenzie, controversial comic Frankie Boyle as "Leftfield Humour," and Lorraine Kelly is portrayed as "The Nation's Godmother" for her Saturday column, MediaWeek reported.

Rob Painter, interim marketing director for The Sun, said the campaign showcasing columnists "can remind readers of the fantastic market-leading content they get every day in The Sun, for only 20p," according to MarketingWeek.

The ad development for the campaign is being handled by creative agency WCRS.