Travel companies’ turn-of-year advertising campaigns have gone back to basics focusing on the magic moments that make holidays special.
In previous years, operators have focused on characters such as Thomson’s Miles the Bear and Simon the Ogre or concepts such as Virgin Holiday’s ‘Unleash Your Mojo’ and Travel Republic’s ‘Republic of Travel’.
But this year’s campaigns – due to launch over Christmas ahead of the peaks – largely feature familiar holiday scenes of customers enjoying beaches, swimming in pools and dining in restaurants.
Thomas Cook’s ‘You Want, We Do’ TV ad features 24 clips in 30 seconds showing families enjoying meals and playing on the beach.
A throwback to the company’s motto ‘customer at our heart’, the ad is played to an upbeat cover of The Temptations’ Get Ready.
Marketing director Jamie Queen said: “We hope it makes people smile, laugh and consider what they want from their next holiday.”
Thomson’s Moments campaign has taken a similar stance with its ad showing a young girl’s journey from beach to pool. She walks past freeze-frame moments depicting classic holiday scenes before jumping into her father’s arms.
Jet2holidays’ upbeat advert – to the tune of Jess Glynne’s Hold Your Hand – follows a young boy who is holiding on to his parent’s hand. He carries luggage to the airport, snorkels in the sea, finds an all‑you-can-eat buffet, jumps in a pool and tries on sunglasses.
Virgin Holidays’ ad shows dozens of holidaymakers running into a sea of inflatables, while Kuoni’s ad follows a woman ‘swimming’ through the air past a European piazza, the plains of Africa and temples in Asia.
Consortia, meanwhile, have designed material to remind consumers of the benefits of booking through agents.
The Advantage Travel Partnership is sending a magazine to 35,000 households, which marketing manager Carolyn Hardy said would “position our members as their clients’ personal holiday planners”.
The Travel Network Group is making its members the star of the show, with digital content they can feature in themselves.
In cruise, Royal Caribbean’s ‘Where Extraordinary Happens’ campaign shows experiences on a cruise ship, while Fred Olsen has begun a sale with the message of safety, which it says is driven by holidaymakers’ concerns.
The peaks campaigns will run at the same time as the start of inquests into the deaths of 30 Britons in a terrorist attack in Tunisia. Queen said Cook always has contingency plans ready in case the content of its main ads was deemed insensitive.
At a glance
• The Advantage Travel Partnership: Consortium is releasing a 24-page magazine followed by emails with local agents’ contact details.
• Kuoni: ‘More than the Maldives’ ad will show the luxury specialist’s range of holidays from Christmas Day.
• Royal Caribbean: ‘Where Extraordinary Happens’ campaign will launch on Boxing Day.
• Thomas Cook: The message from the ‘You Want, We Do’ campaign is that it can meet any holidaymaker’s needs.
• Thomson: ‘Moments’ is Thomson’s last TV ad before its Tui rebrand next year.
• Virgin Holidays: TV ad to air December 22 to promote its January sale.
• Jet2holidays: Operator to run with family-themed ad.
• TTNG: ‘Digital postcards’ for members available from December 28.
• Travel Republic: Advert emphasises tailor-made holidays.