ao link

 

First Choice

 

First Choice has changed its brand positioning slightly, now specifically targeting the value segment of the market and this ad certainly does what it says on the tin - “ridiculous deals need ridiculous adverts”.

 

It clearly communicates the cheap, cheerful and fun element of ‘fly and flop holidays’ so achieves its objective of defining its place in the market for the lowest price point.

 

However, for me it does not connect with a particular customer type – are they seeking to attract families, couples or groups of friends, young or old? This particular ad caused great debate in our house, loved by my 14 year-old but I feel it does not communicate the message that all board types are available, no longer just all-inclusive packages.

 

While the random collection of characters featured, and the use of The Lion Sleeps Tonight as a soundtrack gives it a holiday-camp feel, it’s not really on trend with the growing desire for more aspirational and experience-led holidays. Probably though absolutely on target for the volume ambitions from this sector of the market.

Rating: 6/10

Hayes & Jarvis

I am loving the new brand proposition for Hayes & Jarvis. It uses stylish and beautiful hero imagery simply conveying the personalised, multi-centre experience and clearly articulating the new strapline: 'Extraordinary Travels, Tailored For You’.

 

The use of typography to spell out expressions relating to extraordinary travel, reinforces the tailor-made message. The voiceover by the sultry Mariella Frostrup and music by Hannah Cohen are great choices for the brand, providing both an inspirational, informed quality with a contemporary feel.

 

Rating: 8/10

Citalia

Clearly communicates the brand’s proposition and product with the new ‘Feel Like A Citalian’ tagline, it also simply and effectively communicates the expert knowledge, specialism in the market and diversity of the Italian product through stylish imagery.

 

The ad taps into the trend for authentic, local experiences and the split-screen format demonstrates the range of experiences. It uses the 10-second slot very effectively although does not appear to target a particular customer type.

 

However, the beautiful, but generic destination imagery should resonate with all potential customers who are considering Italy.

Rating: 7/10

Kuoni

The latest version of the operator's ‘Travel Worth Talking About’ ad campaign works very well and still feels fresh, encapsulating the aspirational Kuoni brand and its high-end products.

 

It’s evidently targeting the 40-plus demographic (including music choice of Captain Sensible’s Happy Talk released in 1982) and very much drives the message about visiting stores to talk about planning travel, providing a welcoming feel which will resonate with the more mature audience.

 

They use an interesting mix of destination inspiration including beach, safari and Asian experiences to entice viewers interested in these parts of the world. I think that overall they hit the message target of combining a value for money luxury proposition with iconic destination choices.

 

A good brand ad.

 

Rating: 8/10

On the Beach

 

 

These ads really convey On the Beach's fun-loving and cheeky personality and great value, beach product proposition.

 

Standing out from the crowd, I imagine they will polarise opinion, but will get people talking as the stories are so far removed from reality. The use of rock legend Iggy Pop’s distinctive voice is a good choice - again it grabs the attention and adds to the mischievous and humorous element.

The ad cleverly changes the conversation, moving away from the focus on the destination experience it looks at the benefit of holidays from a different perspective with a simple but effective message of escaping your troubles on holiday because: "Everything is Better at the Beach".

By featuring different customer-types escaping personal disasters, it finds a simple common denominator and the ‘need for a holiday’ message comes through loud and clear and certainly achieves their ambition to really mess with a predictable category and should mobilise those people seeking good value beach holidays to visit On the Beach's website (although the logo and website only came up right at the end, so perhaps a lost opportunity for an ad of its length).

 

Rating: 7/10

Royal Caribbean

Royal has returned to TV with a strong new ad campaign.

It has maintained a high-quality brand message with a slick, attractive and energetic ad which has injected a fresh look at the cruise market. Moving away from traditional cruise ship product messages, the line has cleverly targeted the extended and modern blended family market.

The new ad shrewdly does not feel like a cruise holiday promotion. It highlights the family units which have changed and celebrates the modern family to make an emotional connection with the experiences and memories that can be shared on a holiday, rather than onboard activities and destination inspiration.

 

This could entice viewers who may not have previously considered a cruise holiday to look beyond the "typical" cruise ship experience.

 

Dr Who star Jodie Whittaker provides a respected, trusted and high-quality element to the voiceover, which will resonate with a wide range of family demographics.

 

And by incorporating language used by younger generations - Boomerangs and ‘Grammable' dinners - Royal is clearly seeking to attract the younger audience, who will have sway on their family holiday decision making.

Rating: 9/10

Celebrity Cruises

 

Focusing on the onboard experience, this ad takes an interesting and different approach to portraying a high-quality brand with a fun and entertaining product.

 

The ‘Alice In Wonderland’ storyline and surreal imagery does provide a fresh element to the cruise experience, which could intrigue an older millennial-customer, seeking a lively cruise holiday.

 

It is both dramatic and magical and very well produced, definitely very female-focused and does show clearly some of the ships best offerings as "Alice" embarks on her weird Eden-istic journey.

 

This ad is pure entertainment, set to Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit it creates an alluring emotion of 'what next?'

 

Rating: 9/10

Tourism Australia

I don’t think any review of travel TV ads this turn-of-year would be complete without reference to the awesome Tourism Australia effort, which made its debut on Christmas Day just before the Queen's speech.

 

As the first overseas activation of its recently launched ‘Philausophy’ campaign, "Matesong" shows Australian pop icon Kylie Minogue delivering a special musical Christmas Day message to the UK aimed at enticing more Brits down under.

 

The three-minute musical tribute invites Brits to take a break from all the current happenings in the UK, it is highly entertaining and shows Kylie along with Australian comedian Adam Hills and a few other Aussie celebs in a number of extraordinary Australian locations.

 

The ad very successfully achieves its ambition of extending the hand of ‘mateship’ that exists between our two countries in a light-hearted invitation to go down under and have a cracking time.

 

Kylie is a walking tourism advert for Australia and her deep and authentic connection have the power to convince many Brits to start planning a first time or further visit for sure.

 

Rating: 10/10

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