Qantas pulls on heart strings with ‘Fly Away’ ad: Five experts share why it works

August 24, 2021

Source: YouTube

Australian advertising experts have praised a new Qantas ad that has many viewers longing to travel again, saying its message of hope is “exactly what we need right now”.

The airline’s ad, which promotes its ‘Be Rewarded’ campaign of discounts and incentives to vaccinated customers, features scenes of people travelling to reunite with loved ones once more Australians are vaccinated, set to the evocative soundtrack of ‘Fly Away’ by Tones and I.

The short commercial was met with widespread praise on social media on Monday, with journalists, advertisers and even Australia’s former deputy chief health officer Dr Nick Coatsworth giving the ad a round of applause.

This is how you get people looking forward to what a vaccinated society looks like. Nice work @qantas https://t.co/fRl3rYUdtL via @YouTube #covid19aus #eightypercent #auspol

— Dr. Nick Coatsworth (@nick_coatsworth) August 23, 2021

So what makes the ad work? SmartCompany asked a roundtable of advertising and PR experts to weigh in.

Ben Birchall, director of brand voice at SouthSouthWest (@benbirchall)

It’s an interesting time when even the most jingoistic of brands can seem positively progressive compared to the government of the day. But the latest Qantas ad squarely positions them as visionaries, predicting a future that most of us can’t even imagine.

I mean, they would. Their business depends on it.

But the other thing the ad shows is how powerful positivity can be. Don’t show us people struggling for breath and expect that to move us. Show us the burly farmer looking at a photo of his daughter while Tones And I sings and we’re all puddles. We’ll do anything you say. We’ll even stop wondering exactly what he’s farming to afford that Business Class seat. But great brand communication can do that. Make us forget what the ad is selling, and instead think about what it stands for.

Bethanie Blanchard, head of strategy at Carat Melbourne (@beth_blanchard)

This campaign is an example of the power of acts plus ads.

Qantas has always been best in class at using their advertising to sell the emotional appeal of the product — connection, belonging — over the functional one. This one elevates an activity we’re all longing for, to travel again, into an act of solidarity and pride.

Part of the reason it makes us so emotional is that it has true empathy at its core, representing small moments of sadness or tension we’ve all experienced over the last 18 months: milestones delayed, people and events missed, passports expired signifying freedom lost. But more importantly, it goes further than just the ad and is backed by authentic and meaningful acts: points and discount incentives for those who do the right thing and get fully vaccinated.

These campaigns are deeply important in the moment we’re in as a nation through the vaccine rollout. We saw research during the early days of COVID that showed there was greater faith globally in companies and brands to respond to the crisis effectively than there was in governments. Companies repurposed their warehouses and factories to produce masks, hand sanitiser and medical equipment.

We’re seeing similar leadership through vaccine comms now too: initially, there was lots of commentary about what the ‘right’ government ad strategy should be. But the truth is that it’s these nudges by as many brands, publishers and organisations as possible, with all their differing angles and audiences that will make an impact on vaccine uptake

Dan Monheit, co-founder at Hardhat agency (@DanMonheit)

It’s timely, it’s beautiful, it’s emotive and it’s exactly what we all need right now.

This spot brings hope and a reminder of just what it is we’re trying to get back to.

Many studies have confirmed that the majority of our travel related happiness occurs in the planning and anticipation stage of a trip (up to 50%, compared to 35% when we return and just 15% on the trip itself). Qantas has dialed our collective anticipation up to a 12.

From an initial pull at the heart strings, they make it very clear to the head what we need to do next: go and get vaccinated.

Kristen Zotti, director of Zotts & Co (@Kristenzotti)

In a time dominated by depressing headlines, Qantas is selling hope and we are more than ready to buy. This campaign gives us permission to dream that one day soon, we will be able to see light at the end of the tunnel and return to some kind of normal.

It’s all the things we don’t let ourselves think about — family reunions, weddings, holidays. And when half the country are in isolation and struggling to cope, it gives us a glimpse of the things we previously took for granted. It shows human connection in the most simple, but beautiful way.

Qantas nails the power of emotional storytelling to tug on our heartstrings, framing vaccination as a simple solution to make it all happen. The message is going viral for all the right reasons and yep, I’m still crying.

Constantine Frantzeskos, founder and CEO of Penso (@ConFrantzeskos)

Airlines have been hit harder than any industry, because not only did their revenues dry out, but then they also had to refund the flights that were happening over the next 350 days, which meant that they got seriously, seriously smashed. And I think Alan Joyce has, on a global scale, been one of the serious visionaries and probably has handled COVID better than any other CEO I can think of. He has done an extraordinarily great job, because he was decisive. He struck hard, making changes and reforms and he anticipated what was happening, and furthermore, he’s played a very active advocacy role.

I think it needs to be said in that context, because I don’t look at this as just Qantas doing an ad. I look at this as Qantas [being] very decisive under the leadership of Alan Joyce and this is a manifestation of that.

I think the brief and the strategy behind it is clearly: guys, we can’t live like this, lockdowns are a ridiculously stupid solution so to speak, and the idea of COVID-zero is fucking crazy. So therefore, the reality is, let’s get vaccinated and let’s get planes moving and let’s get people doing whatever they want to do, whether it be business, whether it be personal. Whatever the circumstances, it doesn’t matter, you don’t need an excuse to get on a plane.

And that’s ultimately what this says. It says, let’s be free. And I think that, in itself, as a kind of advocacy message is a very strong message.

The second advocacy message that’s weaved into it is the idea of vaccination is the way out. It’s really, really strong political advocacy … and then it weaves in this beautiful, emotional message. I think it speaks to everyone because ultimately each one of us wants to travel and wants to be free. We don’t even need a reason; we were born free as humans.

The other thing is, and it’s not a criticism of course, but I can’t remember any of Qantas’ other ads over the last five years or so; they have been tremendously forgettable. But this is really energetic and really quite uplifting. It’s also hopeful and no one else is peddling hope right now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eloise Keating

News Editor

Eloise Keating is the news editor of SmartCompany and Inc Australia. Prior to joining SmartCompany, Eloise was news editor at Books+Publishing, the trade press for the Australian book industry. Eloise has degrees in media and communications, marketing and business management, and political science. You can follow her on Twitter at @ellykeating.