Picture an airplane flying across a beautiful blue sky. That’s the extent of the visual element for this West Jet Airlines’ :30. But it provides a serenely picturesque backdrop for an atypical message delivered over the plane’s public address system. Instead of the flight attendant’s voice, we initially hear that of a passenger named Brian.
“I think I’m in the wrong section,” says Brian, noting that he’s nestled in seat 3C. “For some reason, I have a comfy leather seat with a lot of legroom. And I’m watching live satellite television. I didn’t actually pay for first class. You’re not going to charge me extra, are you?”
Flight attendant Michelle responds over the p.a. system. “We only have one class and you’re in it,” she relates.
Brian’s reaction is a simple “Wow!”
A supered message against the wild blue yonder reads, “Come on over. It’s nicer up here.” This is followed by the West Jet logo and an e-mail address for flight bookings (westjet.com).
“Class” is one of four similarly themed spots in the campaign out of agency Taxi, Toronto and New York. In “Sleeping,” for example, we see the same plane sailing across the sky but this time at night. Over the plane’s p.a. system, a flight attendant notes that most everyone must be asleep given the comfy seat accommodations. But for those who aren’t, there’s a documentary on quilts playing on satellite TV, which is guaranteed to induce slumber. A passenger responds over the p.a., giving thanks for the insomnia-fighting tip.
The package of spots was directed by Bruce Alcock of Global Mechanic, Vancouver, B.C., and Boston. Alcock helmed the animation portion, which entailed construction of a model plane and creating camera moves across background plates consisting of sky footage provided by Getty Images.
Matthew Charde executive produced for Global Mechanic, with Tina Ouellette serving as producer.
The Taxi creative ensemble consisted of creative director Paul Lavoie, art director Jim Larmon, copywriter Kenny Herzon, and executive producer/producer Jennifer Mete.
Editing and postproduction were done in-house at Global Mechanic. Audio director was Tom Goudie of Pirate Radio & TV, Toronto.
