Emirates has unveiled a new marketing campaign poking fun at the great lengths people go to in order to finagle an upgrade from economy class.
Each of the light-hearted ads in the season features a character doing their best to wrangle a seat upgrade at the check-in counter of an unnamed airline, using a variety of tactics ranging from feigning a special occasion to serenading an unamused member of airline staff, pretending to be pregnant or attempting mind tricks.
Each spot ends with a tip for travellers: “don’t upgrade your seat, upgrade your airline. Fly Emirates.”
In a departure from typical airline advertising, none of the ads feature an inflight product. The brand is not revealed until the end of each segment.
“Emirates’ Economy Class is well known for being a true, full-service product,” said Boutros Boutros, Emirates senior VP for corporate communications, marketing and brand. “We offer excellent value for money, with world-class inflight entertainment in every seat, full course gourmet meals, generous free baggage allowances, and great service.
“In today’s environment where others are stripping amenities from their cabins and shrinking legroom, we believe travellers can relate to the desperate lengths that some people might go to in order to get their seat upgraded,” he added. “Our message is simple – why try so hard to upgrade your seat when you can fly Emirates instead?”
The more than a dozen vignettes will be run worldwide throughout Emirates’ key markets. Emirates will also release a selection of the ads on its various social media channels over the coming few weeks, each featuring a different “upgrade trick”.
Follow us on
