9.10.11

British Airways

British Airlines Advertisement Essay
Garry Na

The Aviators, British Airways (television, 2011)

      In this essay I am analysing The Aviators campaign  which is very distinctive as its focus is on tradition, dedication and service, which sets it apart for other current campaigns such as the Virgin Airways campaign, whose focus is more on the ‘trolley dolly’ representation of staff. This message is delivered through the slogan “To fly, to serve”, words engraved on the emblem of British Airlines.

      The aviator advertisement created by the BA is releasing a certain message in an unbelievably clever way. The major aim of any airline company would be to attract people to be passengers on their aircrafts. The question is who can do better at it? An advertisement is usually seen without knowledge of how the advert was created. This advert was created with focus on the representation of BA’s staff. Rather than using someone famous to attract minor interest in the company, by using the staff in the airline company as part of the advert, it shows a very honest image of the company and the representation of the airline staffs in the advertisement.

      The aviator advert from the BA was the first major airline company to start a campaign on facebook, the largest social networking site in the world. This had an incredible effect on people’s interest as it was a fundamental way in getting to know certain companies easily. The advertisement is created in a timeline where their company evolves and evolves from just a small number of cadets flying to one of the greatest airlines in the world. The narration in the advert converts their service into words and produces trust in observers’ minds.

      The costumes that come up in the advert changes as the aircrafts change into newer versions. This is not just saying that the airline company is very traditional, but that the value and the traditon that he company treat as important hasn't changed. Also, as the airplanes develops, the weather and the climate changes from dark and cold to bright and warm. If we look at the weather in the first scene where there were only a few men taking off, leaving behind their families, thunder roars and it is very dark. Also, the people’s clothes are thick and are suitable for cold weather. However, as time passes, we can infer that the climate goes warmer by looking at people’s clothes, and that the background has become brighter. The last scene shows the aircrafts of BA soaring above the clouds, and this is the brightest background in the advert.

      Another significant part is that both the staff and the extras that come out in the advert have suitable clothes for that timeline. For example, if we take a close look at the family seeing the pilot off, or the couple that is heading to the airplane in the second scene, we realize they have traditional clothes on from the twentieth century, which is very well analyzed from the making so that the observers of the advert can understand the development of the company a lot better. Their brilliance of the campaign and the making places BA on the top.    

1 comment:

  1. You make a number of well observed points and the analysis as a whole is sound. To organize better, group your ideas into paragraphs with a 'topic sentence' opening each paragraph. For example, you can state as a topic sentence that a series of chronological representations in period costumes are delivered as the main aim of the commercial is to emphasise the continuity of traditional service, as enshrined in the company slogan 'To Fly. To Serve'.Remember to refer to the 'making of the advert' information: what messages and values are conveyed by the representations, according to the creatives? Concorde is worth a mention as it is an iconic symbol of British tradition, pride and success.

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