8 minute read
Turkish Airlines - The Journey
Turkish Airlines has over the past few years had a regular presence at the global advertising event of the year - the US Super Bowl.
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For example, in 2017, “Widen Your World” was fronted by Morgan Freeman in an ad that attracted some controversy as the call to ‘delight in our differences’ was seen as alluding to Trump’s ban on travellers from select muslim-majority countries.
Meanwhile, last year Turkish Airlines put up Turkish-American TV doctor, “Dr Oz” who invited audiences to explore the world through the senses.
American viewers were treated to a 30 second pre-game ad, which was part of a longer six minute video called ‘The Journey.’
The video stars actress Sylvia Hoeks, who appeared in Blade Runner 2049.
In it, she chases another woman around Istanbul with famous city landmarks such as Çırağan Palace, Basilica Cistern and Ortaköy Square appearing in the film.
The film starts and ends on a Turkish Airlines flight, and also features cryptic conversations between Hoeks and a man with a “mockney” British accent, implying that she is some kind of secret agent and he is her handler back at HQ.
There is no direct call to action to fly Turkish Airlines in the film, instead it shows off Turkish Airlines’ cabin crew wearing their new uniforms, the new cabin design, as well as the airline’s new home at Istanbul New Airport.
As you’d expect from a film made by one of the world’s most famous directors, The Journey has high production values, is fast paced and very watchable.
We also loved the little details, such as the pigeons descending on the food Hoeks throws down on the ground while sitting at an outdoor cafe, and the brief flicker of a smile on her face as she is on the phone to the unnamed Brit, asking “do you think this is fun for me”, and sees that her next flight on the chase is going to Bali.
At the same time, when watching the six minute video we did wonder - what on earth is going on?
Who is Hoeks playing, who is she chasing and why, and who is the guy on the other end of the phone?
In fact, many viewers were similarly left scratching their heads, especially when it cameto the 30 second clip (which prompts people to watch the longer six minute version).
For example,. CNN Commentator and podcast host Jeff Yang tweeted
Obviously working withsomeone of the calibre ofRidley Scott doesn’t comecheap.
Is it worth it? This is bearing in mind few viewers of the 30 second US TV version will be in a position to, or have the inclination to, fly Turkish Airlines.
This is of course a question that comes up year. Does it pay off to buy Super Bowl airtime?
Last year, Ad Week asked four brands that very question, and the conclusion seemed to be that the investment was seen more in terms of social media engagement, links and brand awareness than in direct sales.
However, at the same time, ‘A Wealth of CommonSense’ blog cites a Stanford study, which found that beer and soda brands saw around a 2:5 to 1 return in investment.
Industry experts speak
Shashank Nigam, CEO and founder of SimpliFlying
Creating a five or ten minute story gives you many more opportunities to reach and connect with the viewer
“The Journey” signifies something important for airline marketing. Short films have come of age and gone are the days when a thirty second clip would be the only way to do videos.
A number of airlines have of course already successfully used films as a marketing tool.
The most extreme example was probably Virgin America, which in 2014 created a six hour video showcasing what it was like to fly on a mythical “Blah Airlines” from Newark to San Francisco - and despite Virgin America no longer being around that video has now has almost a million views.
A more conventional approach has been adopted by British Airways, through its enormously successful “Visit Mum” film, targeting Indian expats, as well as the more recent BA Magic series of films, of which we’ll be seeing more now that the airline is celebrating its centenary.
The BA videos, each of which are around five minutes in length, are extremely well made and make an emotional connection by telling a story.
And that’s the point:
In fact, one of the things that impressed me was the smart ways in which Turkish Airlines managed to weave its product offering into the Ridley Scott film, from the in-flight dessert trolley, to the drinks you are served in business class prior to departure, to the very impressive brand new Istanbul Airport, which few people will have seen.
It was done in a subtle and natural way, that in no way took away from the narrative that Scott created forTurkish Airlines.
Speaking as a frequent visitor to Istanbul, I thought the video also did an excellent job at showcasing the city, in a way that didn’t look photoshopped or involving Instagram type fakery.
So in addition to promoting the Turkish Airlines offering, it worked extremely well as a piece of destination marketing, and made me really want to go back toTurkey.
The only question is whether the video justified a spend at the Super Bowl, or if it could have been released on other mediums for lesser budget.
Mark Perkins, Executive Creative Director at W Communications
The ingredients should all be there for a major marketing moment: a 30 second Super Bowl ad-spot; legendary Hollywood director Ridley Scott and a huge budget for production and media spend.
From a creative point of view, it’s a stunning piece of work.
It falls flat in its objectives which was to drive Super Bowl ad viewers to watch the full film, but primarily market Istanbul as a stopover destination and the new airport.
Whilst the 30 second trailer and Scott’s six-minute film ‘The Journey’ look as sumptuous as any Jason Bourne blockbuster the end result is a bit muddled.
The trailer was geared to drive viewers to the airline’s social media channels to view the full film.
However, the reaction of media and viewers was one of confusion:
Is this a new Ridley Scott film? What is this about? What are Turkish Airlines selling? What am I supposed to…Ooh, another ad!
When you’ve got 30 seconds on the most expensive ad-spot in the world – bracketed by other blockbuster ads, not to mention the game itself – it’s a battle for eyeballs, targeting consumers who have short attention spans who demand instant gratification.
There’s a fine line between intrigue and lost interest.
As a result, social engagement and share was pretty low for a campaign of this scale.
The number of You- Tube views for the short film The Journey is 1.3m after four days, which sounds respectable.
However, just the first 30 seconds counts as a view, the drop-off rate is huge, and in the world of branded online content, six minutes is the equivalent of reading War and Peace cover to cover.
It’s a beautifully made film that showcased Istanbul to new audiences, and it certainly created intrigue, but one has to wonder if it delivered the desired impact, conversation and ROI.
Given the budget and the assets they had to work with it could have been much more engaging.
Take away the ad spend on the Super Bowl slot and invest it in innovation and user-generated storytelling.
Taking a nod from the Netflix show Bandersnatch, what if the opening of the film started with an arrival in Istanbul airport and the viewer could choose from multiple options for the lead character?
That opens up both the narrative and city to discover, with different sequences and endings which immerse the viewer. In fact, that has given me an idea if anyone would like to get in touch.
Sue Turner Brand Expert
A Turkey with a lot of mash: The Bodyguard, Killing Eve, Mission Impossible - the gravy having been gobbled-up by Ridley and the US networks.
Feck knows how much this cost to make let alone the media costs, but I suspect that Turkish Airlines will be eating the sandwiches until the next Super Bowl.
A flimsy ‘storyline’ wrapped around shots of Turkey, the airline services and interiors.
Yes, it’s beautifully filmed, the ‘bird’ looks great and it’s all very cosmopolitan. But perceptions and reality are often very different things and this is alien to me.
It’s not the Turkey we’ve been hearing about of late, so Mr Scott is doing a bit of terraforming here on behalf of his client.
What would I have done? Nothing. I wouldn’t work with this client for the reason stated above. Do you think I had fun watching this? No.
Marc Weber-Bång Aviation Consultant
My first impression of the new Turkish Airlines ad “The Journey” was that of mystery and confusion. I could not figure out what the storyline was about, who the characters were, and why one was chasing after the other.
So at first, I felt a bit underwhelmed.
However, I ended up watching it again and again to try and figure out what this mystery was all about.
The more I watched it, the more aware I became of all the details in the video, and the storyline became less important to me. And I think this is exactly what Ridley Scott and TK wanted to achieve.
Because the storyline, the mystery surrounding it, and the excellent cinematic effects, all provided a powerful stage for TK to showcase all the typical “boring” airline ad elements (Business class cabin and service, city sights, TK history and their home airport) in a different and fresh new way.
It is also very much on-brand, in the sense that it incorporates the two elements that the TK brand embodies, namely: humour (Think Kobe vs. Messi and the recent Lego safety video) and gastronomy (their restaurant like experience from lounge to landing).
From chasing her target on a city bike, to the elegant non-aircrafty looking dessert trolley, the various brand ingredients are brilliantly thrown into the mix of mystery.
