Heathrow has unveiled its second-ever Christmas commercial, showing the 50-year-long love story of Doris and Edward Bair, the airport’s much-loved teddy bears, who were shown in the airport’s first Christmas TV ad last year.
The spot opens in the 1960s where the bears first set eyes on each other. Edward was still his clumsy self, leaving his coat on an aircraft by accident when returning from a business trip. Doris, the airline’s air stewardess, notices and chases after him. She wouldn’t want to see a passenger get cold.
Their eyes meet: the rest is history.
Set to the distinctive sentimental sound of Petula Clark’s “Couldn’t Live Without Your Love,” we see a series of tender and charming moments across their fifty-year history in which Doris and Edward are brought closer together every Christmas. Each time we see them, their love story develops in different ways but always in the same location–Heathrow arrivals hall. As they grow older and the backdrop (and outfits) change, we start to meet the rest of the Bair family who come along to greet them in the same spot where they first met.
The advert sees the re-ignition of the partnership between Heathrow and film direction by Dom & Nic through Outsider Productions and animation from The Mill. Creative was led by advertising agency Havas London. To create a nostalgic backdrop location, much of the advert was filmed in the historical Terminal 1; which closed to passengers in 2016 after over 50 years of travel reunions. British Airways provided an original BOAC aircraft, air hostess uniforms and additional historical details to help convey the authentic history of air travel.
Titled It's A Wonderful Flight, the film has launched on YouTube, and will be shared via social channels, programmatic video, broadcast VOD and OOH. 2017 Heathrow
Client Heathrow Airport Agency Havas London Ben Mooge, executive creative director/copywriter; Lynsey Atkin, creative director/writer; Kiri Carch, executive producer; James Pinnington, Adrianne Godfrey, Debbie Ragasa, assistant producers; Clare Phayer, strategy director. Production Outsider, London Dom & Nic, directors; John Madsen, producer; Tom Townend, DP. Postproduction The Mill Neil Davies, executive creative director; Reece Ewing, exec producer. Editorial Final Cut Ed Cheesman, editor; Kit Wells, assistant editor; Frankie Elster, producer. Audio Factory Anthony Moore, engineer
The Best Work You May Never See: Blinkink Director Jack Brown Takes Us On A Teddy Bear’s Journey For Tekla
Blinkink director Jack Brown created this stop motion film to tell a handmade story for Tekla’s holiday campaign.
Established in Copenhagen in 2017, Tekla was born from a desire to bring modernity and freedom of expression to the homeware category. As a brand, it rejects rapid trend cycles by designing for longevity, with an uncompromising focus on quality and responsible production. Brown’s use of stop-motion animation, using only Tekla fabrics, places both the brand’s story and its values front and center.
The film takes us on the journey of a teddy bear exploring the enchanted interiors of the Tekla Copenhagen store. The vibe feels dreamlike and the addition of stop motion adds a tenderness to the film. Inspired by the stories of Hans Christian Andersen, the campaign features iconic figures and nods to his fairytales; the towering mattresses of The Princess and the Pea, the magical umbrella of The Sandman, and the floating luggage of The Flying Trunk.
Brown said, “What an amazing little project this was, and for such a great brand. Tekla was such a cool client to work with. I suggested making the whole ad out of their fabrics and within 24 hours, there were boxes of beautiful fabrics being delivered for us to cut to pieces. Everything you see is about the size of an A4 sheet of paper and all hand cut, stitched and animated by a very small team of very talented people. Anita Bruvere was the lead builder and animator and did such an amazing job of turning all these tiny pieces of fabric into a magical world.”
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