M&C Saatchi Develops its First Pan African Advertising Campaign for British Airways

The agency developed two billboards following BA’s new communication strategy. The ads focus on the up and coming festive season and offer a special Christmas message, which is illustrated by excellent fares on route to Johannesburg International and beyond to awesome destinations. The thought is encapsulated into the pay-off-line " great South African holiday is in your reach this Christmas."

British Airways, operating as Comair locally, now gives passengers more choice and convenience with an increased number of flights and number of destinations within Southern Africa. The main objective is to increase the volume of passengers on route to South Africa and consequently its market share. The new ad campaign is also the opportune moment to reinstate the "alue for money" deal.

The first outdoor execution, developed for Zimbabwe and Namibia, features scenes of runway lights in the shape of a Christmas tree, strengthening the contextual relevance in light of the festive season. This makes the execution simple, powerful and relevant to the consumer, while effectively communicating BA’s objectives.

The second outdoor execution, aimed at the Zambian market, conveys the exceptional prices that BA offer, in a clear and endearing way. The agency chose a road sign and changed the distance marker to a price point. This implies that air travel is easier than driving to South Africa this festive season.

Both outdoor execution will be displayed later this month until mid January 2002. The offers will include Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

"The ads capture the excitement and emotion of travel despite all the geographical differences. We wanted to reflect the values of the British Airways brand: quality, innovation, safety and security as well as their customer focus. We are flattered and enormously excited to have earned such a fantastic brand to work on and it has been a great challenge to work on ads aimed at consumers in other African countries," concluded Nina Morris, Managing Director of M&C Saatchi.