BA’s new super ad – filmed by a Slumdog Millionaire Oscar-winner – is launched today and here are the first stills. The latest in the airline’s ‘To Fly. To Serve’ campaign will be unveiled during the England versus Moldova World Cup qualifier on ITV tonight, but you can get a sneak preview at 11am today on Facebook.com/britishairways
The ad follows a customer journey using a ‘micro to macro’ style of filming. The footage shows close up shots of the intimate details of flying, panning to wide shots of the aircraft in motion. It draws contrasts between them both, showing the care and thought that goes into every part of their journey. The end frame poignantly shows the British Airways logo being stitched into fabric, with the voiceover commenting ‘To Fly. To Serve. Today. Tomorrow.’
Abigail Comber, BA head of marketing, said: “We wanted to show travel and innovation at its best – the people behind the scenes, the attention to detail, our engineering prowess and the care and expertise to get 100,000 people in the air every day. It is beautifully crafted with a light-hearted tone and proudly features real people from around the airline.”
The campaign uses TV, cinema, press, digital, outdoor media and social media, and will run until October, in two different phases. The film is directed by Martin Krejci, with cinematography from Anthony Dod Mantle, who won an Oscar for his involvement in Slumdog Millionaire. It features a vibrant soundtrack ‘Experience’ (Starkey Remix), by the acclaimed Italian composer and pianist, Ludovico Einaudi. Created by BBH, the TV ad will also run in a number of the airline’s international markets, including USA and India – for the first time in seven years.
The press and outdoor advertising showcases the innovative ways in which British Airways helps its customers, featuring its mobile boarding pass and digital bag tag, as well as its latest aircraft – the superjumbo A380.
Hamish Pinnell, creative director at BBH London, commented: “This campaign launches the next chapter of ‘To Fly. To Serve’. It presents the sheer scale of British Airways’ numerous innovations and new services, and sets the platform for the future. We were able to work with some true craftsmen, Martin Kreici, Nadav Kander and Leandro Farina, and the result is beautiful work produced with the same attention to details applied by British Airways every day.”
In social media, a digital campaign to coincide with the launch of the Dreamliner 787 will start on September 19, and again on September 24 for the A380 flight to Los Angeles. It invites social media users to ‘tweet’ a message using #racetheplane @British_Airways. Each tweet will fuel a virtual version of the aircraft, racing against the actual flight, with prizes to be won.
The advert can be viewed at youtube.com/flybritishairways from September 7.
