Saga aims to shake off its “silver hair” image with a new marketing campaign which highlights the “ageless nature” of its travellers.
The campaign is supported by primetime TV advertising for the first time, and will debut this evening (January 4) during Who Wants To Be A Millionaire on ITV.
It features people from across the world who have met Saga clients, talking about their memories in their native languages.
Shot on location, the adverts show Mongolian eagle hunter Ahelbek (pictured); Norwegian Sami lady, Mary-Sarre; and Spanish guitar-playing Pepe.
Ahelbek tells the story of Charlotte “who danced till her shoes fell apart”; Mary-Sarre recalls how Brighton couple Peter and Amy “had her singing musicals”; and Pepe sings of Molly from Exeter “who broke his heart”.
Stuart Beamish, group chief customer officer at Saga, said: “This is a very exciting new approach for Saga.
“Rather than showcasing individual travellers and destinations, by contrast, our travel campaign flips the focus and celebrates the immensely powerful mark we all leave on the people we meet, whatever age we are, and wherever we go around the world.
“This idea is captured in the campaign line, ‘the world is waiting to meet you’.”
The marketing was created with communications agency VCCP.
Guy Moore, creative Director at VCCP, said: “Saga is often thought of as a gentle, all cruise ships and silver hair brand, which is not the truth.
“So it was time to change the conversation and define Saga not by age, but by energy and vivacity.
“Featuring only the people they have met on their travels with the line ‘The world is waiting to meet you’, you’d be forgiven for thinking Charlotte, Molly, Peter and Amy – the subjects of our stories – were in their 20s or 30s, because age is only a number.”