Aer Lingus has again appointed an agency in the UK to handle its creative work. London-based Uncommon Creative Studio (UCS) has picked up the airline’s global account. UCS, which is 51 per cent owned by French group Havas, already acts for the International Airlines Group (IAG) in handling British Airways. The agency, which was recently appointed by Diageo to handle Guinness in the US, headhunted Frankie Yeates from Wieden & Kennedy as MD.
Aer Lingus was previously with Accenture Song’s Droga5, which declined to re-pitch. The agency rolled out the ‘You’re Very Welcome’ platform. It was the airline’s first brand campaign in over seven years. It involved a TV ad (above), digital and social and activity across the airline’s own channels. The ad takes place on an Airbus A330 aircraft which Aer Lingus uses on its transatlantic route. The campaign delved into passenger and cabin crew stories.
Quintessentially
The first story in the ad was about a caring and patient young girl and her family, and the small but intuitive ways the airline’s cabin crew would take care of her. The ‘You’re Very Welcome’ – céad míle fáilte – tagline is a quintessentially Irish greeting that provides comfort the moment it is heard. The rebrand was rolled out across new routes and sponsorships, and in the UK and US markets throughout 2023.
Before Droga5, Aer Lingus worked with the KesselsKramer agency in Amsterdam.
Elsewhere in adland, Boys+Girls has won the SSE Airtricity creative following a competitive pitch. In recent years, the UK energy company hired a number of Irish agencies, including Javelin and Edelman. The company also worked with Core Sponsorship on its sports involvements, including its backing of League of Ireland football. Boys+Girls has previous experience in handling an energy supplier having worked with Energia for several years.
