In an ingenious TV commercial that we’re sure Don Draper would have approved, British Airways is utilizing the distribution channels of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to extend their rallying cry for a "Home Advantage" at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
With the now official #HomeAdvantage hashtag leading the charge, and the soundtrack of The Clash’s pop hit "London Calling," the TV ads not only show a BA plane taxing throughout the UK, but BA’s Facebook page will allow nationals to add and customize the commercial to include their local addresses. British Airways encourages all the UK nation to join the conversation to actually see the plane pass by their homes at http://www.facebook.com/britishairways #HomeAdvantage
On this page, users can input their postcode and watch the aircraft taxi down their street.
And while the YouTube views at the time of this posting, only tallied 303 views, this video was actually made public on the Internet in advance of their UK debut later today, June 19, 2012.
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UPDATE (July 15, 2012): Initially
this campaign was only targeting UK visitors. But a new website was
recently created so Americans can also take part. By entering one’s
street address and zip code, U.S. folks can now view a bespoke video
that displays a BA jet travelling down their street, en route to the
Olympics. Click this link to try it out–> http://planeview.net/
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British Airways’s intent is obviously to build national pride, and their ad copy actually talks about how a nation joined together can make a difference.
This video positions the campaign from the point of view of the athletes themselves, and what it means when a home crowd lifts athletes to greater heights.
The ad will be supported by outdoor and national newspaper ads and social media involvement on Twitter will also be driven by the hashtag #homeadvantage. As part of the Home Advantage campaign, BA has held a competition for folks to win free flights to the UK for friends and family living abroad.
Frank van der Post, BA managing director of brands and customer experience said, the tagline "Don’t Fly" while initially sounding confusing refers to the request to nationals to remain home during the Olympics to support their teams. Van der Post said that includes “delaying your summer holiday”. “We are encouraging every clap, cheer and whoop we can get,” he said.
Those, however,vwho nonetheless choose to fly or can’t get into the Games will be able to watch the action on screens in the lounges at Heathrow Terminal 5, and BA will host a dedicated area at the Olympic Park for up to 10,000 fans to watch the Olympics live on giant screens.
And while BA is the official partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB -and most celebs will be flying BA to the Games, at the time of this posting, there was no word whether or not Don Draper had actually booking a ticket to ride. According to the word-of-mouth, there’s still that sticky situation of dumping Mohawk Airlines for American Airlines that has to be worked out before he’s caught boarding yet another competing airline.
