The BBC is to promote its Winter Olympics coverage with an animated clip featuring an Inuit hero on a mission, after the success of the monkey cartoon that backed the broadcast of the Beijing Olympics. The 40-second clip will break tonight on BBC1, as the corporation starts promoting its forthcoming coverage of the Winter Olympics, which begin in Vancouver on 12 February.

The idea for the clip was developed by ad agency RKCR, which also came up with the strategy that resulted in monkey animation developed by Gorillaz creator Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn.

The clip was developed by Marc Craste – the animator behind Lloyd’s TSB’s commercials featuring a cutesy family – of agency Studio AKA, with production by Red Bee Media. It tells the story of an Inuit hero who goes on a quest to recover a stolen stone who overcomes obstacles by using a snowboard, skis, bobsleigh and curling.

“Following the success of the Beijing Olympics monkey campaign our aim was to once again reach a younger audience while reflecting the national heritage of the host country,” said Louisa Fyans, head of marketing and communications at BBC Sport.

The BBC is also using the theme of the promotion in the title sequences of its Olympics coverage. The animated trail will also be supported by a wider campaign that will include radio and online advertising.

Follow the Winter Olympics 24/7 on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin 521) and Eurosport HD (Sky 412) British Eurosport channels are streamed online via the Eurosport Player.