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Lufthansa ‘Business Class Planking’ | Lufthansa in May 2012 was the frst airline to take delivery of the passenger version of the new Boeing 747-8i, which also featured the airline’s new full-flat Business Class seat.
To promote its new Business Class product, the airline collaborated with German creative frm Kolle Rebbe to create a short campaign putting a humorous spin on the act of lying down. The spot features people in lie-flat positions in various locations around the world such as libraries and diving boards, with copy stating that Lufthansa’s launching a guaranteed lie-flat experience “Because people like lying down.” The idea behind the video, which has generated nearly 200,000 views on YouTube sofar, was that people naturally like to lie down, and that Lufthansa makes it happen with just one touch in the new Business Class cabin. To drum up curiosity, the day before the release of its 'Planking' spot Lufthansa released an 11-second teaser on YouTube showing a man planking and copy stating “One more day.” This video got over 3,300 views. The ‘Planking’ commercial was also featured on television in Germany and at cinema preview screenings in India.
Wideroe ‘Grandpa's Magic Trick’ | Wideroe is a Norwegian regional airline that is part of the SAS Group. The airline’s most recent commercial, created by McCann Oslo, features a young boy mesmerized by his grandfather's magic trick – his ability to rub his hands together and then blow a Wideroe airplane out of his mouth. The spot's excellence lies in its subtle messaging to position Wideroe. The airline's tagline “All of Norway. All the time.” implies extensive coverage as well as frequent flights across the country – an idea alluded to by the fact that boy in the spot asks his grandfather to repeat a trick he just fnished doing. Additionally, the stunning and remote-looking visuals of the setting add to the message of Wideroe being a reliable carrier to even the most isolated corners of the country. The spot runs broadly on TV and in cinemas in Norway, and has generated over 600,000 views sofar on YouTube where it has received rave reviews. According to AdWeek, “The ad, gorgeously shot, is deceptively simple. […] “A quiet spot from McCann Oslo that simply and beautifully recaptures the sense of wonder about flying through a subtle, delightful metaphor that makes the ad itself a minor miracle. Flying is magical, it indelibly claims.”
9 | Airline Marketing Benchmark Report | October 2012
