Ad is here: a4JdQi60an0
Occasionally I see an ad that just gets me so pumped up for the business that we are in. Witness this new ad from British Airways.

What’s to love? Well, it looks GREAT to begin with. Lots of wonderful old planes, nostalgic scenes, and beautiful VFX.

Also, this ad is a great example of leading with something amazing, and then following up with smaller, less-expensive corollary advertising parts – more on this in posts to come.

But most of all, the story is wonderful. The idea of linking all of those pilots of the past to those of today is just wonderful. Sure, they took 1:30 to get to it (haven’t seen the :30 of this yet, but I’m sure it exists in some bastardized form), but it puts a lump in your throat and makes you think – man, flying is fun, and I want get on BA someday because they really have a history in this stuff.

The opening 90-second advert, which features serving BA cabin crew and pilots, debuted on Facebook at 11am on September 21.

BA managing director of brands and customer experience Frank van der Post, who joined the airline eight months ago following a career in luxury hotels, said: “This campaign marks out territory that other airlines can’t claim.

“BA is a world-renowned airline. We do not need to reinvent ourselves, but it’s time to turn up the volume. ‘To fly, To serve’ is not a slogan. It is not the invention of an advertising copy writer. It is on the uniform of our crew. It’s what we do.”

Van der Post added: “The ad puts a stake in the ground. It will be shown many times and supported by print and online campaigns.”

BA declined to reveal how much the TV ad had cost, but said it was paid for out of BA’s £400-million-a-year marketing budget. “It was a small part of that, but it cost enough,” he said. Ten members of cabin crew and three pilots appear in the advert.

Enjoy!