Virgin Australia is encouraging travellers to get vaccinated and rekindle their imaginations with the VA-X & Win campaign and competition.
The airline partnered with Sydney-based studios The Precinct to create the two 15-second TVCs. The agency has worked with Virgin Australia / Velocity over the past 10 years.
Described as quirky, the TVCs feature two Virgin Australia passengers who unsuccessfully try to achieve the joys of travel at home.
From a treadmill in place of an airport travelator, to a recliner chair to mimic the in-flight experience, the theme is nothing can replace the real flying feeling. Fast forward to the passengers experiencing their old lives again and the Virgin Australia flying experience once borders have reopened.
The videos will be housed on Virgin Australia’s social media channels before being aired on the 7 Network during the broadcast of the AFL Grand Final on 25 September.
The Precinct creative director Michelle Galluzzo says the campaign targets Covid fatigue with humour.
“Australians are starting to get COVID-19 fatigue and are beginning to realise that vaccination is our only chance at living a normal life again,” Galluzzo told AdNews.
“The VA-X & Win campaign, which demonstrates the lengths people will go to, to experience their love of travel at home, rewards fully-vaccinated Australians by giving them the chance to win stacks of prizes and get back in the air.”
Qantas launched its “Be Rewarded” campaign on August 24, offering fully-vaccinated Qantas Frequent Flyers incentives and automatic entry into a mega prize draw to win a year’s worth of flights, accommodation and fuel.
The VA-X & WIN competition runs to the end of December. It has a simple, online entry process and is open to all Velocity members who have received both doses of the vaccination.
“We wanted to make it easy for consumers and offer a wide range of prizes,” Virgin Australia Group chief marketing officer, Libby Minogue told AdNews.
There are 251 prizes on offer, valued at more than $150,000. The major prize is one million Velocity Frequent Flyer Points.
“We wanted to give people the opportunity to enter and be rewarded. We’ve got so many prizes which are out there whether it’s points, holidays, airfares - we wanted to have a wide variety of prizes and offerings for the consumers,” Minogue says.
Minogue says the campaign uses Virgin flair to convey the importance of vaccinations in protecting lives and returning to travel.
“We just really wanted to encourage Australians to be vaccinated and we wanted to do it in a positive, fun uplifting way that demonstrates our Virgin flair”
The campaign coincides with an announcement by Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrldlicka about a program for staff.
“We’ve announced this week that all Virgin Australia employees will become vaccinated and every one of them has the opportunity to engage in the competition and win great prizes,” Hrldlicka says.
Under the staff promotion, employees who get fully-vaccinated before November 15 will be in the running for incentives including a holiday to Hamilton Island, additional annual leave, Business Class flights and Lounge memberships.
Virgin Australia released its You Can’t Keep a Good Thing Down campaign on November 12, 2020, its first marketing activity since the pandemic began. The campaign gave travellers confidence that Virgin Australia is here to stay, while looking to the future.
Credits:
Virgin Australia
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer: Moksha Watts
Chief Marketing Officer: Libby Minogue
Senior Manager, Public Relations & Content: Matthew Ongarello
Brand Communications Lead: Erina Chapman
PR & Content Advisor: Lauren Gaynor
Agency: The Precinct
Creative Director: Michelle Galluzzo
Producer: Henry Motteram
Director: Eran Thomson
Cinematographer: Dan Freene (ACS)
Media: PHD
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