Air France unveils a new worldwide campaign

PARIS – Out for the ethereal, almost poetical campaign of Air France dating back to 15 years – Making the sky the best place on earth-, Air France unveiled in world exclusivity yesterday in Paris its newest advertising campaign. Daring to be different, the new campaign highlights the willingness of the carrier to be perceived youthful, dynamic and energetic and at the same time very French in its essence. “We are in France very “Frenchsceptical”. But I can assure you that this image is not what most foreigners perceive or see when thinking of France. Our country is one of the strongest image-generating destination and we wanted to play with all the cliches and icons shaping France”, explained Remi Babinet, one of the cofounder of BETC, the advertising agency which stands behind the new Air France tagline and campaign. “Our aim was then to offer a dramatic different image, far from the normal image campaigns emphasizing always the flight attendant smile or aircraft’s cabins”, said Mr. Babinet.
 

« Air France, France is in the air » is daring to be different to carry the ambitions of the Transform 2015 Plan. “ Transform Plan has been essentially centered on economic efficiency and cost improvement in its first application phase. We now want to improve our revenues and our communication by also highlighting our new commercial offer and our ambition to be a world leader for service quality”, told Frederic Gagey, the airline CEO.
 

The new campaign consists of 6 visuals illustrating the services offered by Air France: the comfort of the A380, the new La Premiere cabin, the new Business cabin, gastronomy, the carrier’s network and SkyPriority (priority channels at more than 1,000 airports). It is supplemented by 12 visuals depicting iconic destinations served by Air France (Paris, New York, Brazil, China, Japan, Africa, Italy, etc.).  In total, some 38 to 40 visuals were created for the campaign.
 

The visuals, created by the Argentine photographers Sofia & Mauro, create an effect of surprise by mixing heritage and modernity, while echoing Air France’s past as a renowned poster specialist. Pleasure, youth and vitality emerge from images of the Moulin Rouge, the French Revolution, the Sun King, master chefs and haute couture.
 

The airline’s eminently French character and the notion of the pleasure of travelling with Air France are illustrated in a fun, lively and exciting message, in line with the French lifestyle. The bright and offbeat tone creates a form of affinity and proximity with the public.

On 2 April, Air France will be unveiling its new advertising campaign called « Air France, France is in the air » in the printed press, with coverage in Air France most promising or important markets(France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and Switzerland in Europe, Senegal,  Brazil, Canada and the USA in the Americas and in Asia, China/Hong Kong and Japan. The campaign will be seen on the internet, social and printed media and on the radio. “We will not go on TV campaign. We wait to see if this first campaign phase will be successful”, indicated Adeline Challon-Kemoun, Vice President Communication of Air France. The campaign will go around the world but it will be adapted to the cultural and social specificities of each targeted market. “It is obvious that some of the visuals will not work in Arabic, African or Asian countries. We will then have different images but also different taglines”, she added. The advertising budget has not been unveiled but Air France will spend far over 50 million Euros…