Air Canada has rolled out the digital component of a campaign it launched during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
In phase two of the campaign, which promotes Air Canada’s 175 destinations worldwide with a “travel muse” – a young male adventurer – meant to embody all the things people see and experience when travelling, the muse moves into social and digital channels. The character now has a presence on social networking sites Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube, as well as mobile and tablet interactive experiences. In addition, 15-second video clips will appear on screens in high-traffic areas like office buildings and will also continue on TV.
“We identified all the media properties we wanted to extend this character into, and while we were out shooting the television, we put together additional creative units to acquire this content,” said Nathan O’Brien, creative director at Montreal-based Marketel, which created the campaign. On Twitter, for example, the muse posts travel pics and asks followers where they get their vacation inspiration.
In the first phase of the campaign, TV spots showed the muse getting up to various adventures (and misadventures) in locales around the world, like being chased through the streets wearing nothing but a barrel.
“We wanted to bring a little levity to the brand and inject a little more humanity to it,” O’Brien said.
As for the target audience of this more lighthearted campaign, O’Brien said Marketel “wanted to attract people who typically fly with other airlines that may be more personality driven. And also freshen up our personality to our loyal customers.”
