Wednesday
Sep282011
Video: The Best Airline Commercial. Ever. (British Airways 2011)
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 07:21PM After I decided this must be the best airline commercial ever, I started thinking back to commercials over the years and wondering if any other one might be better. I've been paying attention to airline ads on TV for over 40 years, and I just can't think of one that connected with the aviator in me while still conveying the message that they're here to transportl people safely from point A to point B. I really think this is the best ever.
Thank you British Airways... I like you more than ever before.
This the-making-of video is every bit as captivating as the commercial. Bravo BA!
Reader Comments (16)
Totally sexist in this day and age - what about the pioneering women who left their men at home with a kiss and a promise to return? Baroness deLaroche, Amy Johnson, Amelia Earhart, Bessie Coleman...there's a huge list.
It's great, bringing the history of flying into advertising. As for great airline ads, I also loved this one from Austrian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OraMVgzM71s
@Liz Moscrop- Since this is a BRITISH AIRWAYS commercial, and my quick check indicates their first woman pilot came on line in 1987... and they currently only have a small percentage of female pilots, it wouldn't make any sense at all to include a woman-as-pilot in the commercial. All those early aircraft shown in the commercial are British Airways or the older airlines that they grew out of - they are showing the airline's history, and truthfully, women pilots aren't a very large part of that history. May I suggest you just enjoy the wonderful aviation on display in the video (and be happy that women can easily fly for an airline in this modern world if they want to)
Both British Airways and Austrian (linked in the comments above) exemplify the way advertising SHOULD be. Instead of shouting some key message at us like a sledgehammer to the head, these adverts engage us in different ways - one, with an all-too-brief look at a glorious history and a true feeling for the very soul of commercial aviation, and the other, with a very light-hearted interplay of human and machine. I imagine these might have cost more Euros to make than something less inspiring, but did they get their money's worth? Oh, you bet. Makes me want to fly on these airlines, even if they don't offer the lowest fare.
Shouting at me doesn't stop this being a sexist advert. 2011 is also the centenary year of the first British woman to earn her FAI license. Hilda Hewlett also built aircraft under license in the UK, some of which were created by the same company that produced the Handley Page bombers used by BA's predecessor in 1919.
It would have been easy enough to add a sentence about female involvement in UK aviation heritage, given that British Airways is the UK's national flag carrier. You are quite wrong about women being easily able to fly for an airline in 2011 if they want to. Stats on female pilots bear this out. In fact, as recently as 2005 a woman pilot took a British airline to court for discrimination against mothers - and won.
Yes female pilots don't feature heavily in BA's history - I don't think that is a good thing. Skewing an ad produced in 2011 so heavily to blokes is a worse thing.
The flying is lovely, the cinematography is gorgeous, but it is exclusive, in the sense that it excludes women.
An in-depth study of the subject, several years reporting on aviation and a book about female aviation history mean that for me sitting back and just enjoying the wonderful aviation on display is not an option. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I have contacted both BA and the Advertising Standards Authority and expressed my displeasure.
Incidentally Hilda's husband Maurice Hewlett was unhappy with his wife's success and famously said, "Women will never be as successful in aviation as men. They have not the right kind of nerve." Seems Willie Walsh feels the same way today.
@Liz Moscrop By 'easily' I meant that if they are willing to dedicate themselves to learning to fly and then work for several years building up their time, and then are willing to commit to a carrier and will conform to the structure of that kind of work, then they can easily achieve this (of course providing they are able to meet all of the competency and proficiency requirements and there are slots available).
The fact that the numbers are low for women doesn't in any way prove they are having a difficult time... it may simply mean they aren't as interested in the job as men are. I am in no way against women in aviation (in fact I've done many things to promote this) but there's no logic in expecting any specific percentage of commercial pilots to be women. But more to the point... the BA ad is seeking to attract customers, why would you expect them to insert info into the ad that doesn't accurately reflect the past?
I'm sure you'll disagree with me, but I believe your approach to promoting women in aviation is very counter-productive.
I agree, this is a great commercial. However my vote for best in recent memory goes to Virgin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cM4EOeJzHA
The commercial is great, the comments trying to rewrite British aviation history gave me a headache.
This commerical is beautiful! It has the production value of a major motion picture. It is what commericals and airline travel should be. But then you get to the airport and have to go thru all that security, which just blows the entire romantic image of air travel. :(
Very well done, I wonder how they made the excellent vintage footage. That guys voice could make anyone buy anything, very cool and smooth.
Interesting that the responses to my posts don't contain any facts, just criticism. I would expect historical accuracy, and there were pioneering women involved in aviation - some of whom proved routes. I'm not rewriting aviation history. It's a great topic if you actually study it.
The BA ad doesn't specify that the route proving was for BA - the airline couldn't claim that.
I'm also interested in what you've done to promote women in aviation -a rather nebulous statement since there are many roles women can take.
@Liz Moscrop- I'm done. Have a nice day.
Yada, yada, yada, the horse is dead. Start your own blog instead of trying to force others to do your politically correct bidding.
btw: the song theme is from helen jane long and called the aviators, you can find it on itunes or youtube
Great advert - shame it's for British Airways (somewhat more of a basket case than Qantas is rapidly becoming). Both airlines were once soaring pinnacles of airline excellence but seem to be getting thumped into the ground by bean-counting management styles :(
Still - awesome advert! Thanks for sharing :)
I thought Liz's comments were well-written, strongly researched and relevant. I was also dismayed to find that women were completely left out of the advertisement--particularly since BA was more than happy to celebrate women in their history when it came time to trot out their first female pilot coming out to land the T5's maiden voyage. Her name is Capt Lynn Barton, as I'm sure you know, since the admin of this site "does so much to support women in aviation".
It has nothing to do with being overly "PC" or forcing people to change the history. It has to do with recognising that you cannot just ignore people who are out there working alongside the white men--I guess you're also not bothered by the fact that there were only white men in the advertisement? You can be as patronising about it as you like, with your little "I'm done, have a good day" head-pat nonsense, but it doesn't change the fact that women are not a minority. Ignoring them and treating them badly will only be to your long term detriment.