Ah, the power of effective marketing. When an airline commercial goes viral on the internet, you know you’re in for a treat and a visit to the travel agency (say this one?). Here are the best of 2014 / 2015 for your viewing pleasure.
#1 “The Most Epic Safety Video” by Air New Zealand
What’s it about? The “Official Airline of Middle-Earth” has truly outdone themselves with their latest release to a repertoire of hilarious commercials. Two “Hobbit” superfans (aren’t we all?) board their flight in great glee, before an elfin stewardess begins the (long, like the movies) safety video set in Middle-earth (you know, where Hobbits come from). Spot the celeb cameos! As if you could miss Elijah Wood, Richard Tyler, and Peter Jackson himself. Oh, we might have just ruined the surprise. We’ll yell “spoiler alert” the next time.
Total views: 14, 363, 523 and counting.
#5 “Flying Re-imagined” by Etihad Airways
https://youtu.be/sXlmF3eI9R0
What’s it about? Nicole Kidman in all her porcelain-perfection sits atop a ladder in a library (why?), hair flowing in the breeze (what breeze?), then lays down for some shut-eye before ordering a juicy steak for dinner (she eats?). She ends her night with a glass of champagne and come morning, has a read-through of what we hope is the sequel to “Moulin Rouge”. You might have missed it, but there’s an airline commercial amidst Nicole Kidman’s fabulous life.
Total views: 2, 040, 649 and counting.
#3 “France is in the Air” by Air France
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-ahlbWNZPk
What’s it about? Love is in the air, airplanes fly, France – okay, you get it. If you could however, explain to us the significance of the strange swings on board, we’d appreciate it. Cue footage of the finest in France, such as ballerinas, the Tour de France, a high-fashion photo shoot, pastries, and of course, young lovers, because you know, love is in the air. The ad is directed by We Are From LA; the film collective that gave the world Pharrell Williams’s “24 Hours of Happy”. With this ad, you get 45 seconds of happy and leg-room envy.
Total views: 49, 067, 607 and counting.
#4 “Hayal Edince” by Turkish Airlines
What’s it about? Turkish ads generally tug on the heartstrings, so be warned, you might just turn into a ball of mush at the end of it. Four kids wonder if planes would ever fly to their small village. One little dreamer reckons a pilot might want to, so they create a mini landing strip. And in comes a Turkish Airlines plane! The pilot is greeted by the locals at Iğdir Airport and proclaims, “Why do we need to fly all over the world, if we still have destinations within Turkey?” Why indeed. The ad, which took three months to produce, is now in the top 10 commercials in Turkish advertising history!
Total views: 728, 156 and counting.
#5 “New York/Paris” by Open Skies
What’s it about? Paris and New York are two peas in a pod. Both cities are constantly compared to each other; they’re both fashion capitals, have impressive art scenes, and then there’s the movie“Paris, Je T’aime” (2006) and it’s English remake “New York, I Love You” (2008). The British Airways subsidiary that flies exclusively between Paris and New York places these comparisons side by side in a time-lapse sequence which includes shots of two connecting bridges from the Seine to the Hudson, street food, the Arc de Triomphe and Washington Square Arch – it’s like looking at a pair of long-lost twins reuniting for the first time.
Total views: 36, 470 and counting.
#6 “40 Years of Fun” by Cathay Pacific
https://youtu.be/3yXYzDJ39VA
What’s it about? To clear up any confusion you might have right now, the commercial hallmarks the 2015 Rugby Sevens, which is one of the largest (if not most fun) sporting events in Hong Kong. It’s a nostalgic walk down memory lane, 40 years of memories to be exact, as the Cathay Pacific cabin crew struts past cassette tapes, boom boxes, old-school mobile phones, and an homage to Kai Tak Airport’s plane landing heydey. And what better to signify 2015 than with a selfie? SPOILER ALERT: Fiji won the Sevens with a 33-19 win over New Zealand.
Total views: 16, 075 and counting.
Where do these ads make you want to fly to?
Photo credits: Main.
