benchmark report
airline marketing
#WannaGetAway
why not? EASYJET A new 40-second TV spot from the easyJet is encouraging British travellers to embrace a “Why Not?” attitude and explore Europe with courage. The commercial comes after a public admission form easyJet boss Dame Carolyn McCall’s that profits are down as Brits worry over a weak currency and possible new travel rules in the wake of Brexit. Peppered with symbolism and full of dazzling colours, the commercial rocks along to music from The Cult and features a young traveller taking the plunge into the unknown. After waterskiing down off an easyJet plane, our intrepid protagonist bursts through a wall of blossoms (which many will interpret as the perceived post-Brexit barrier between the UK and Europe) and into an easyJet hangar which transforms to a bizarre interpretation of Europe. ‘HangarEurope’ is filled with colourful tableaus and OCT 2016 ISSUE
SOUTHWEST choreographed oddity. Throughout the commercial, the star is star tled by things that look strange or frightening, but always discovers that it’s not so bad – enjoying herself in the end by throwing caution to the wind. The TV spot received more than 15,000 YouTube views .
They say that everything old is new again and Southwest’s latest ‘throwback’ adver tising campaign is making waves and getting laughs, just like it did back in 1998 when the airline’s first “Wanna get away” commercials made its debut on American TV sets.
Two weeks earlier, ‘Why Not?’ hit the Swiss streets with an experiential stunt that rewarded spontaneous travellers with free weekend getaways.
The original TV campaign ran for about ten years and featured dozens of 30 second adverts showing everyday people who found themselves in highly embarrassing situations. At the end of the video a voice would ask “Wanna get away? Now you can,” and a low Southwest fare was displayed on the screen. They were simple, funny and effective.
“With ‘Why not?’ we have a brand campaign which not only reminds and inspires people of the reasons why it’s great to travel, but it also underlines how easy and affordable it continues to be to fly with easyJet,” said easyJet’s Peter Duffy. TheDrum.com reports that the campaign will also run across print, social, experiential and digital OOH.
Southwest’s latest #WannaGetAway clip has nearly 24,000 YouTube views and is not even “listed”. It retains the classic formula of humility, comedy and the possibility of escape via affordable airfare. Times have changed though, so this time
#WannaGetAway is accompanied by a hashtag, a dedicated website and social media contest where five winners will get to experience the all-inclusive vacation of a lifetime on #WannaGetAway Island (not the island’s real name) in Belize. To enter this contest (held in association with HomeAway.com) people just need to tweet their most embarrassing moment with #WannaGetAway and #Contest by the 6th of October. Southwest apparently dusted off its old rolodex when planning this campaign, bringing back many of the creative minds and par tners involved in the first volume of ads. This write-up by AdWeek.com reveals the campaign also has a CBS Spor ts tie-in, with the network highlighting “Wanna Get Away Football Moments” from fans during the NFL season.
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EXPERIENTIAL SOCIAL DIGITAL TV, PRINT, OOH
