Episode 59 - Emirates Airlines Ad Reviewed by the7stars and Groupe Renault
On Advertisers Watching Ads this week, we’re on top of the world with Emirates Airlines. The ad feels quite familiar at first… until the big reveal at the end!
It’s bold and extravagant, but at the same time understated until the last minute. But, does it do the job of inspiring people to go to Dubai? Is it original enough and does it capitalise on doing something different?
We’re joined by Sabrina Francis (Strategy Director at the7stars), Ruth Maliwat (formerly Insights Lead at DOVE Masterbrand, and future Insights Director for New and Emerging Categories at Coke), and Adam Nickson (Head of Marketing Communications, Groupe Renault). Find out their vote on this week’s ad.
Transcription
The following is an automated transcript of the file, which is not 100% accurate but will give you a good idea of what was discussed.
Tom Ollerton 0:08
Hello, and welcome to Advertisers Aatching Ads. My name is Tom Ollerton. I'm the founder of Automated Creative, and this is a weekly show where brands watch other brands' ads discuss what's good and bad about them. This ad was part chosen by Contagious this week, and also fans of the show. But before we get to the ad, let's meet this week's guests.
Sabrina Francis 0:29
I am Sabrina Francis. I am a Strategy Director at the media agency, the7stars.
Ruth Maliwat 0:35
Hi, and I'm Ruth Maliwat. I formerly was the Insights Lead at DOVE Masterbrand, and future Insights Director for New and Emerging Categories at Coke.
Adam Nickson 0:47
And hi, everyone. My name is Adam, Adam Nickson. I'm Head of Marketing Communications for Groupe Renault in the UK.
Tom Ollerton 0:53
What a panel! Fantastic. Right, let's see this week's ads.
So, Ruth, what was your response the first time you saw the ad?
Ruth Maliwat 1:33
I love it and it hooked me in the first few seconds. And I like it towards the end when they have the big reveal that the lady was actually standing on top of Burj Khalifa. So, I love it as an audience. As a marketer, I also love it because you know, knowing Emirates and how they're very popular with over the top everything. And Dubai as a city, is known for its indulgence, extravagance. And this is no different to what they've done in this particular campaign. So, love it.
Tom Ollerton 2:02
How about you, Sabrina? Were you equally carried away with this ad?
Sabrina Francis 2:07
Um, unfortunately not. Gonna get the controversial opinion there straight away. This great stunt that they've done putting, you know, putting someone on top of the Burj Khalifa was completely lost for me. And I think it was because I just assumed it wasn't real. But I felt that there were things in there like it wasn't that obvious that she was standing on the Burj Khalifa until the very end. And therefore that significance of it being the tallest building in the world was completely missed.
Tom Ollerton 2:35
So, we have both sides of the coin. Adam where do you sit?
Adam Nickson 2:38
When I first started watching it, I couldn't quite make out what all the fuss was about. It felt like a Bob Dylan video. And if you saw the Bob Dylan video, where he's holding the signs, and he's throwing them... Loads of fake news videos on social of people doing the similar sort of thing, and I kind of thought, "What's all the fuss about?" And it's only really when that kind of bubble burst and you get the gig, and you get the gag, sorry, that it all kind of makes sense. And I think once, once I've got to that point, I was, I was hooked, and I loved it, to be honest with you. So, a bit skeptical to begin with. Felt like a sort of thing I've seen a thousand times. They were, obviously, when you see the ad in full, you realize it's not an ad you've seen 1000 times. So, I think on balance, loved it.
Tom Ollerton 3:13
But does it do the job? It's a striking bit of content. It had 5 million views. I think the making of video has about half as many. Does it land the brand? Does it land any USPs? Or is this halfway between an ad and kind of one of those crazy stunt TikTok videos where someone's kind of hanging, hanging off the edge of a cliff with a skateboard?
Ruth Maliwat 3:34
To your point, I thought about actually, Tom, you know, where's the branding in all of this? First five second branding, zero second... But actually, the flight... The stewardess, right? The flight attendant, her uniform in itself is branding for Emirates, right? That I don't know what we call it, the head piece, that they wear on. It's an ownable assets from Emirates that, that in itself is branding without really it being in your face branding. So, arguably, it could be better but the've done it just enough to identify it as an Emirates, I guess.
Sabrina Francis 4:14
For me, I think clearly it's not a brand awareness ad. I think the message of it is clearly about getting people excited that they're able to travel to places like Dubai again, and trying to obviously with it the stunt being quite record breaking, it's about dramatizing that point, right. But for me, because it doesn't look as real as it could be. I kind of feel like that dramatization point has been lost. And so for, if it was for drama, I just feel like in fact the behind the scenes footage does a better job at portraying the extent to which they've gone to to place someone on top of the world. To me, the ad doesn't do that, the behind the scenes footage does. So, that's just, that's my main problem with it is because the footage i think feels more dramatic.
Tom Ollerton 5:03
On top of the world? Is that a kind of sub slogan of theirs when they've got, "Fly Better?" Is that just the joke that, "Hey, I'm on top of the world. We feel on top of the world!" I'm a little bit confused. What are they, what are they trying to land?
Adam Nickson 5:13
I think, I think from from my point of view, if you think about it from a client's point of view, I think they've been quite brave if I'm honest with you. I reckon they probably sat around I said, "Look, the industry's been on its backside for however many months now, you know, nobody's flying, how can we get bums on seats?" And it would have been so easy to do an ad about half price flight to Dubai, right? You know, buy one get one free, get a free upgrade, whatever it was. And they've actually thought you know what, "Let's just try and build a bit of equity back into the brand and a bit of value and do something different." So, you know, I think that the pressure from a client's side would have been, get bums on seats, do something drastic, do something quick. And actually, I think they've they've sort of zinged when probably everyone's zagged I think on that one.
Tom Ollerton 5:49
So, Sabrina, you're, you're still the, the naysayer of this ad? What would have, what would have made it better for you? If you'd seen this, this treatment? Or this like storyboard? What have you been saying that the creative team?
Sabrina Francis 6:00
It doesn't have enough intrigue for me? So, as I said, you know that behind the scenes footage is some really incredible setup. And I think, you know, I, normally I am totally an advocate of doing teaser videos and creating intrigue, but I think you needed to see the whole, "Right, guys. We are so happy. We are so on top of the world that we are back, that we're going to stick someone on top of the world." I needed that more explicit intent. If you have to explain it, it hasn't done its job in that 30-second ad. And that for me is the frustration. It needed the extra drama and explaining and connecting those dots to be like, "Okay, that's cool."
Ruth Maliwat 6:43
There's so much juice in that big idea that they could actually build more legs around it and make it a bit more campaignable, right? So, one of these is the BTS, behind the scenes take on it. But they could have created, I don't know, a bigger activation around it as to, you know, fly, flight Emirates, flight to Dubai. And these are the things that's awaiting you along the lines of over the top delivery of the brand promise, being on top of the world. There's just so much legs to the big idea that it's quite a shame that it's just a 30-second film plus behind the scenes.
Tom Ollerton 6:58
I used to work at an agency and there's... Agencies everywhere coming up with like, "This is the the definition of a big idea, really." But there is a real lack of clients who are big enough to take them on, I think. Clients always like, "Give me a big idea. I don't mean that big. Can we just do a Facebook video?" I mean, like, you've all been there. So, how the hell did this get signed off?
Adam Nickson 7:42
I think that's a that's a tricky one, certainly from a client point of view. Because you do get, you know, you get agencies, we work with an agency that we don't work with, you know, practically coming up with ideas as well and saying, "Hey, why don't you do this?" There's gonna have been some, some challenging conversations with, you know, CMOs, marketing directors, whoever it may be. It's a leap of faith, isn't it? It really is a leap of faith. But, you know, if someone who presented that to me, I'd like to think I'd have bought it as well, because you, you think about what the alternative is, which could be quite dull and quite dry. Ultimately, I guess it gets you to the same, the same business goal in terms of driving some awareness, driving some traffic. Hopefully, driving some holidays, or some bums on seats. But yeah, it's a, it's a leap of faith for sure.
Tom Ollerton 8:20
What can the industry be learning from this, Ruth?
It pays off to be bold and to disrupt the category, and I think we underestimate audiences in insofar as we just give them what we think they want, but they actually ready and eager to see something bigger than what is out there.
Adam Nickson 8:35
The only thing that I would like to have seen perhaps a little bit more of in that ad was two things probably, which I think we could probably learn for, for next time. I think the behind the scenes could have been a bit richer. It didn't look that difficult. When they did it. Clearly, it's a big feat, but they could have made it perhaps look a little bit more difficult. The writing on the boards was clearly done in post production. And I guess that's so they can do in different languages afterwards. But that for me, just that final 1% of authenticity would have been, would have made it magic, you know.
Sabrina Francis 9:11
I do love the bravery of the idea as I said, and I think that's why I've been frustrated by the execution. And I think most people won't be seeking out extra accompanying content or behind the scenes footage. Like you know, the ad has to live and breathe on its own. You only have a few seconds to really get your message across.
Tom Ollerton 9:28
So, we're right at the end of the show. I'm going to get you all to give this ad marks out of five. So, on a count of three, can you hold up your fingers to demonstrate how many points you'd give it? One, two, three... A four, a four and a three, for Emirates. Well, Sabrina, Adam, Ruth, thank you so much. I will see you all next week.
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