Virgin Atlantic - #GetOutOfOffice

Virgin Atlantic - #GetOutOfOffice

The out-of-office reply is something that anybody who has ever worked in a corporate office is sure to recognize, and that’s probably why Virgin Atlantic chose #GETOUTOFOFFICE as the title and associated hashtag for its latest television commercial .

The 1.5 minute spot was made with the help of communications agency adam&eveDDB and made its debut September 5th… just as the school year began for students and most 9-5 workers said goodbye to the last days of summer holiday.

The tongue-in-cheek commercial, which AdWeek.com called “hilariously deadpan”, reminds us that the workplace is no place to spend a holiday – and that work/life balance is critical. It does this by jokingly advertising an office as a vacation destination (albeit a horrible one), while also mimicking the style and format of an old British travel show called Wish you were here…? which aired on the UK’s ITV channel between 1974 and 2003.

For this comedic spoof, Virgin Atlantic even managed to rope in the show’s original narrator Judith Chalmers, who regales viewers on the stunning views (roundabouts and brick walls), foodie delights (burnt coffee and vending machines) and fun activities (such as working late and falling asleep) that can be enjoyed during a holiday at the office.

#GETOUTOFFICE ties in nicely with Virgin Atlantic’s recent “Let It Fly” campaign, and has been viewed nearly 900,000 times on YouTube and 24,000 times on Facebook. AdWeek.com reports that print, outdoor, digital and social campaigns stemming from this theme are soon to follow.