Virgin Atlantic: Still Red Hot
The falling number of airline passengers combined with soaring oil prices in 2008 saw Virgin Atlantic taking measures to increasing marketing spend to revive its strength. With its 25th birthday in 2009, it launched ‘Still Red Hot’ to celebrate. The TV advert was a recreation of the airline’s launch in 1984, and featured a Virgin Atlantic cabin crew, dressed in iconic red, making their way through a very grey Gatwick airport. Heads turn and jaws drop as the glamorous entourage, representing the first Virgin Atlantic crew on the inaugural flight to New York, stride in slow motion through the crowds to the soundtrack "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
The ad closes on a shot of the Flying Lady, painted on the side of the Virgin Atlantic 747, winking at the camera. The endline is "still red hot", reaffirming the glamour of the brand to travellers.
The £6 million campaign, created by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, is estimated to have driven 20% of overall revenue during the campaign timeline, a payback of £10.58 for every £1 invested. It won Silver at the 2010 IPA Effectiveness Awards.
Agency: RKCR/Y&R
Creative: Pip Bishop/ Chris Hodgkiss
Production Co: Partizan
Director: Traktor
Channel 4: Meet The Superhumans
Channel 4’s biggest ever marketing campaign promoted the London 2012 Paralympic Games with its ‘Meet the Superhumans’ film across 78 television channels, aiming to introduce a new audience to the Paralympics and raise awareness of Paralympic sport.
Set to the track, "Harder Than You Think" by Public Enemy, the film showcases the feats of the UK’s top Paralympians, as well as revealing some of the unique backstories of previously unknown athletes and their phenomenal training in preparation for the Games. The shoot took place over two weeks in sports arenas across the country. The Channel 4 marketing campaign also utilised major outdoor poster, press and digital activity, including a poster campaign telling Usain Bolt and Mo Farah "thanks for the warm-up".
Conceived and directed by Tom Tagholm, the film features sometimes shocking images - a bomb blast, a car crash - and its fast-paced emotionally charged nature that make us change our perspective. We see that the athletes are something more, rather than something less, than normal athletes. The words "Meet the superhumans" reinforce this new perspective.
It’s success was revealed when more than 11 million people tuned in for the opening ceremony – one of the best audience figures in Channel 4’s history. The campaign swept the board at the Promax Awards and the British Television Advertising Awards, as well as the Campaign of the Year award by Campaign magazine.
Agency: 4Creative
Director/Creative: Tom Tagholm
Production Co: 4Creative
T-Mobile: Welcome Back
This piece of event advertising from T-mobile welcomed passengers to London's Terminal 5. An estimated 35,000 passengers coming through arrivals were greeted by a 300-strong ‘vocal orchestra’ of baggage handlers, cabin crew and members of the public singing such numbers as "I am the passenger" by Iggy Pop and "The Boys are Back in town" by Thin Lizzy. Hidden cameras film the reactions of the arrivals.
"Welcome Back" is a follow-up to previous Saatchi & Saatchi ads for T-Mobile, including "Dance" filmed at Liverpool Street train station. Media planning and buying was by MediaCom and viral video marketing by Unruly Media. Its emotion and sense of fun made it successfully deliver on the brand promise "life is for sharing".
The film’s launch was a TV first when a three-minute version of the commercial took up the entire first break after 10pm on every major UK commercial TV channel –alongside a PR push on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. It won a host of awards, including 'Best Over 90 Seconds TV Commercial' Gold at the 2011 British Arrows.
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Creative Director: Paul Silburn
Production Co: Smuggler
Director: James Faupel
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