Best Airline TV Adverts
You might not have thought too much about airline adverts lately – airlines and travel companies haven’t necessarily had the best press in the last few years, with Covid restrictions, environmental impact and the cost of living crisis all having a huge impact on the way we choose to travel and go on holiday.
However, these holiday-themed TV adverts are some of the most memorable from recent years, promoting airlines and air travel to get us all in that holiday spirit.
Safety Dance, Alaska Airlines, 2020
Truly one of the most innovative Covid-19 pandemic adverts, this clever spot from Alaska Airlines offered a more fun perspective on travelling with a mask. The advert is all about travel rules during the pandemic, and uses a cover of the song ‘The Safety Dance’, originally by Canadian band Men Without Hats.
The Alaska Airlines version of the song includes references to many of the most common phrases we all heard back in 2020, with lots of mentions of washing hands, cleaning and – of course – wearing a mask around others. It’s a catchy tune that sent out an important message in a fun way just as the world started opening back up again.
Imagine, easyJet – 2018
Set to a fittingly dreamy cover of The Everly Brothers’ ‘All I Have to Do is Dream’ by Cat Powers, this beautiful easyJet advert captures everything wonderful about holidays.
The TV ad shows us the amazing sights and sounds of a holidaymaker’s imagination as she daydreams looking out the window of her easyJet European flight. The scenes shift from a tunnel of clouds and divers floating through the air, to tourists made out of clouds, ice cream emerging from the mist and European towns made out of beach inflatables. Truly one of the best airline adverts for capturing the magic of that holiday feeling.
You Make Us Fly, British Airways – 2021
Created to welcome passengers back to travelling properly after all the restrictions and disruptions of Covid, the You Make Us Fly British Airways ad goes behind the scenes to show us some of the people who go into sending us off on our jolly holidays.
The BA ad’s tagline “we all have something that makes us fly – for us, it’s you” exemplifies the quintessential in-flight service and putting customers first. The advert shows aeroplane captains talking about flight protocol in their sleep, dancing flight crew staff and airport coordinators on the job, showing off everything that goes into the airline experience
See the World Differently, Virgin Atlantic – 2022
Thanks to this Virgin Atlantic advert, ‘I Am What I Am’ has been stuck in the nation’s heads for many a month. The advert celebrates the airline’s flair for fashion and individuality, showing a range of Virgin Atlantic staff and passengers as they travel around the world in style.
Set to Lady Blackbird’s cover of ‘I Am What I Am’ (originally by Gloria Gaynor), the Virgin airlines advert celebrates the beauty of everyone’s difference for an inclusive travel ad that offers a fresh perspective on the traditional view of airline staff.
Feels Like Home Again, Qantas – 2023
Coming home videos are all the rage on TikTok these days, partly a throwback to Covid lockdown restrictions and partly a side effect of all of our collective love of crying at YouTube videos – let’s face it, we’ve all shed a tear to a ‘soldier coming home’ video in our time.
This Qantas Airlines TV advert tugs on our emotional heartstrings, reminding us how important airlines are in reconnecting us with our loved ones. The advert follows a young man living away from home, who books a Qantas flight home to surprise his mum on her birthday. Tickets = tears.
What do you think the best airline advert is? Let us know your favourites in the comments!