/ / / / / /

Flying is Glam and Like a James Bond Film, Says Virgin Atlantic

October 4, 2010 at 11:39 AM | by | Comments (0)

Not that anyone ever accused Virgin Atlantic of doing anything by halves, but with its new ad, the airline has really gone all out.

Why the fanfare? Not just because it’s Virgin, but because it’s the first time Branson, et al have run the same ad campaign in the UK and the States. And it’s also the first time in a decade that they’ve advertised on American television.

The tagline for the $9m campaign is “Your airline’s either got it or it hasn’t” and, set to the Muse cover of Feeling Good. The spot takes you on a flight with the airline—when we say flight, we mean Upper Class, of course—from security (VA passengers are so hot that they dance for full body scanners, it would seem) to free ice cream on board, which you actually get in economy as well. It ends with bedding down on a cloud, which you definitely don’t get in economy.

The music is fabulous and so is the imagery. It’s very James Bond credits-ish, with people flying in the sky, sliding down suitcases and the like. The feminist in us isn’t so keen on the flight attendant unbuttoning her blouse (at 0:45) but at least it redresses the balance with some male flight attendants pole dancing on forks with prawns (at 0:54). The other thing we find slightly odd is the FA falling through the floor after she hands out the ice cream—surely you don’t want to make people think of bad things happening on a plane? Overall though, we definitely approve.

At the launch of the ad in New York on Friday, Chris Rossi, Senior VP of VA for North America, told us that any airline could run an ad like this but only one like Virgin can get away with it, because you have to back up the claims with the service on the ground (or, rather, in the air). Let’s hope they do! In the mean time, we’re loving the idea of flying being all glamorous again.

[Video: The Drum ]

Comments (0)

Post a Comment

Return to » Flying is Glam and Like a James Bond Film, Says Virgin Atlantic

Join the conversation!

Not a member? .
Use of this Site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (effective 3/21/12) and Privacy Policy (effective 3/21/12). © Condé Nast. Your California Privacy Rights. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.
Ad Choices