Olympic Commercials: London Calling!

July 3, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6VzhDE1Wso One of the best commercials related to the Olympics is one we’ll never see here in the USA. British Airways–known for clever ads even without the Olympics–has been in the Olympic spirit for the past few years and their ads have been fun. But this time, they succeeded because they did exactly what you’d expect them not to do. What does an airline have to sell? It sells travel. It sells places to go. Things to see. An easy or economical or luxurious way to get there. But this summer, British Airways turned the tables on itself with a campaign slogan you’d never expect to hear: “Don’t fly”. That’s right: British Airways would like citizens of the British Isles to stay home, enjoy hosting the Olympics, and–most of all–cheer on the home team. So in this cleverly shot commercial, BA’s 747s are replacing the double-decker red buses on the streets of London. It’s all part of a larger campaign called “Home Advantage”. There will surely be a documentary coming out to show us how they filmed it so it looks like a plane really is lumbering through the cramped streets of London. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elp2cabTkU0&feature=relmfu If you’re interested in advertising and marketing, watch this explanation of the mindset behind the “Home Advantage” campaign and the tagline “Don’t Fly”. The song, by the way, is the catchy “London Calling” by the Clash, which was a huge hit back in 1980. Did they ever dream back then that their punk rock song would be mainstream enough to be the background theme of a British Airways ad about national pride? ?????????

“Don’t Fly” is the new motto for British Airways. They hope British citizens will stay home and cheer on the nation’s athletes–including equestrians and horses!

Fran Jurga is a freelance writer and editor from Gloucester, Massachusetts. Her award-winning blogs include?The Jurga Report for EQUUS Magazine?and?War Horse News?on the 2011 Steven Spielberg film. Fran is the founder of?Hoofcare and Lameness Journal?and writes a specialist?Hoof Blog.? Fran wrote the?WorldRides blog for the Hong Kong equestrian events of the 2008 Beijing Olympics?and the Discover WEG blog for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010.You can?follow Fran on Facebook,?Pinterest?and?Twitter?for more news about the horse world. To make sure you don’t miss any news,??follow or subscribe to this blog?s headline news stream.

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