British Airways is launching its newest multi-channel advertising campaign and also its first with Uncommon Creative Studio and MG OMD.

The new positioning, ‘A British Original’, is a celebration of British Airways’ people, its customers and the nation, which has helped make British Airways, a British Original. It explores the individual and original reasons people travel, whether to reconnect with loved ones, take some time out or to immerse themselves in a different culture.

The campaign is centred around the common question travellers are frequently asked when they land in a new destination: ‘What is the purpose of your visit?’ but instead of ticking the standard boxes of ‘business’ or ‘leisure’, viewers see more meaningful and relatable answers for travel, reflecting each and every one of us. Sometimes funny, sometimes moving, but always celebrating originality in all its incredibly personal guises. Showing that British Airways recognises each of its customers as individuals.

The airline’s people are at the heart of this campaign, featuring throughout both the static imagery and the short films. One of the static shots shows a British Airways cabin crew member peering out of the window, followed by his motivation for doing what he loves, ‘the office view’. Similarly, one of these short films focuses on a British Airways’ pilot, fondly rocking his daughter to sleep before heading off to work. The film ends on Anthony’s reason for doing what he does every day, which is ‘for her’.

The campaign includes an original approach both in creative and media, bringing to life reasons for travel in a record-breaking number of executions. Encompassing over 500 unique print, digital and outdoor executions and over 32 different short films all running over the course of a month.

The print, digital and outdoor imagery embodies a stripped back approach embracing negative space, simply showing a tick box. This series will include over 500 different and uniquely written copy lines, showing viewers an original reason for travel across every media site. Some of the examples of reasons to travel include ‘because I have too much on my plate, none of it seafood’ and ‘To feed the social feed’. These will continue to adapt according to location, time of day, weather and what's happening in the news. The copy will also sometimes relate directly to the medium with playful bus wraps and press ads adopting a battenburg approach with adjacent placements that have interacting reasons for why we travel.

MG OMD handled all planning and buying for the campaign, providing strategic insight across media executions, creating a truly original and dynamic media campaign, marking its most bespoke project to date. The campaign will appear across TV, video on demand, cinema, radio, print, display, social and out of home, including iconic sites including Piccadilly Lights and Heathrow.

The TV campaign launches in peak programming across ITV, Channel 4 and Sky, with BA top and tailing ad breaks in key primetime shows including “The Return of Friday Night Live”, “Gogglebox” and “Rob and Romesh vs”.

The airline’s customers can also expect to see the celebration of originality throughout the customer journey, including menus focusing on British provenance. The airline is also working on a new safety video which will showcase British Airways’ people, alongside some of the most well-known and much loved British talent.