Travel marketing often misses the mark in highlighting the specific stories that fuel much of the travel experience. For a business that hinges on emotion, this oversight leads to lackluster campaigns that just don't have emotional resonance.
Thankfully, this trend has been reversed recently.
Late last year, Expedia launched an extensive video component of their Find Yours campaign. By combining on-site integration with print and captivating videos (both on YouTube and television), the campaign succeeded in capturing the diversity of travel stories. The series also managed to capture the humanity of the experience - ultimately that travel exists to connect humans to each other and the world around them.
British Airways must have been taking notes, as their latest video is a tear-jerker.
Telling the modern story of an Indian mother separated by an ocean from her NYC-based son, the video constructs a vivid sense of place that sets the tone for the entire interaction to come.
As the mother makes her son's favorite meal, telling stories about him, it becomes very clear that she misses him terribly - and has not seen him in some time.
As these things go, there's bound to be a surprise - and this video does not disappoint.
Captivating imagery, thoughtful framing, elegant cinematography and bright colors combine to create not only an emotional resonant video, but a gorgeous love letter from mother to son.
The video is rolled up with a dedicated URL, http://ba.com/visitmum, which includes a flight search tool - and the recipe from the video. A smart follow-up tool specifically targeted to convert emotion to action, perhaps BA will be rolling out more videos specifically targeted to different segments of the traveling population.
If that's not enough push to "visit Mum," then check out See Your Folks - a simple project worked up by Wieden+Kennedy alums to show progeny just how many more times they can statistically expect to see parents before they die.
Emotional uppercut!