A heart-warming ad from Contiki has reached more than 1.5 million people on Facebook in less than two weeks.
The social content tells the story of Australia’s first bearded astronaut, a Rio Carnival dancer, a fashion designer and other risk takers to showcase how travel can change your life forever.
Since being posted online the social response has been overwhelmingly positive:
One person writes: “This is so wholesome. We need to do more adventure stuff.”
Another wrote: “If this doesn’t make you want to travel I don’t know what will.”
Others took to Facebook to share their own travel journeys.
The ad features people of various ethnicities, ages and sexualities, explaining what year they remember the most and why, while tackling topics such as adoption, disability, homosexuality and gender dysphoria.
Often brands that try to address such sensitive topics run the risk of offending.
“Sometimes when brands attempt to tackle tricky topics they don’t do it an authentic way, but our customer base is everyone and everything. We told the natural stories of our consumers and that’s why it doesn’t feel out of place,” Contiki MD Katrina Barry tells AdNews.
In the spot, one women recounts the year 2009, saying: “This lady came from the orphanage, with my little girl in her arms. Our eyes locked straight away. It was magical.”
Another person says: “2014 was the year I decided to go from female to male. I didn’t know that gender dysphoria was even a thing, but I found out that year.”
Barry says the idea for the series stems from an insight that millennials are unlikely to value their parent’s opinions, but will listen to their grandparents.
“Often millennials are criticised for not living in the moment. We wanted to show them that the opportunities they take now will stay with them as they grow older,” Barry says.
“We decided to call out for young people to make a memory they will have forever. By using the stories of elderly people were able to tap into a sentimental side.”
Ex Big Brother contestant Jake Rich with his grandma
Barry describes Contiki as a content-led marketing business that over the last five years has shifted its focus to digital and social channels.
“We have moved away from traditional advertising. We always aim to lead with overarching content that has a long-standing appeal to millennials, rather than a direct sales approach. Because of that, we only do two to three campaigns a year,” she says.
“The brand may be 55-years-old but we are staying true to our aim of helping young people explore the world.”
Alongside the main spot, Contiki has created a content series starring Australian personalities, such as DJ Tigerlily and YouTube star Jake Rich, speaking to their grandparents about travelling the world.
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