Virgin Australia Dances Into New Chapter With Feel-Good Campaign From CHEP

A 12-year-old schoolgirl from Melbourne will front Virgin Australia’s new marketing campaign ‘You Can’t Keep A Good Thing Down’, unveiled today.

The campaign by CHE Proximity features Annie Jones, a vibrant young performer and 2020 America’s Got Talent finalist, who’s unable to contain her excitement at finally returning to the airport to go on a family holiday with her mum.

The film, directed by Revolver’s Matt Devine, transforms the airport into a stage, and Annie’s dreamy celebration mirrors the entire country’s growing excitement as safe air travel makes its triumphant return.

Soundtracked by the anthemic ‘What You Need’ by Australian icons INXS, we see her spinning, balancing, twisting and grooving her way back to the Virgin Australia flight she’s been looking forward to for months.

Virgin Australia General Manager Brand & Marketing, Michael Nearhos, said You Can’t Keep a Good Thing Down is all about bringing to life the excitement of flying with Virgin Australia again.

“As state and territory borders safely reopen and more Australians consider traveling, we wanted to show them how they’ll feel to finally enter the airport again to go on that holiday they’ve been dreaming of, to conduct business or to reunite with family and friends, and this campaign certainly captures that,” said Mr Nearhos.

“You Can’t Keep A Good Thing Down has two meanings– it’s not only a nod to Virgin Australia looking to the future but it’s also about giving travelers confidence that after a period of uncertainty, the Virgin Australia they know and love is up there flying again, and here to stay.”

When asked about Annie’s involvement, Nearhos said, “Annie has got this amazing, vibrant, and warm personality and an infectious zest for life which is a really great fit for our brand and we know Australians will fall in love with her just like we did.”

Says Ant White, Chief Creative Officer, CHE Proximity, “It has been an honour to help tell one of the great Australian recovery stories with Virgin Australia and Velocity. ‘You Can’t Keep a Good Thing Down’ is a tribute to the fighting spirit Virgin brands are born with and marks the next chapter of their success here in Australia. We’re thrilled to be going on this journey with them.”

“It was really important for us to remind people of the joys of flying. Annie’s ‘good thing’ dance interprets the happy feeling we all experience just before we board a plane. Thankfully, we’ll all get to enjoy it for real with state and territory borders safely reopening soon.”

The integrated campaign, which was a collaborative effort across Virgin Australia, Velocity Frequent Flyer and CHE Proximity, is the first major marketing activity ahead of the airline’s official sale to Bain Capital on Tuesday November 17.

To celebrate the launch of the campaign, and help people take off even sooner, Virgin Australia is also offering over half a million fares from just $75*, including baggage and seat selection, in their ‘Go You Good Thing’ sale on now until midnight AEDT next Friday 20 November unless sold out prior.

Credits:

Virgin Australia

Michael Nearhos, General Manager Brand & Marketing

Dean Chadwick, Acting Chief Marketing and Loyalty Officer

Rapthi Thanapalasingam, Head of Brand, Consumer & Media

Erina Chapman, Brand Communications and Governance Leader

Alexandra Davey, Brand Marketing Specialist

CHE Proximity

Ant White, Chief Creative Officer

Holly Alexander, Director, Strategic Production

Ashley Wilding, Creative Director

Daniel Davison, Creative Director

Cameron Dowsett, Senior Copywriter

Mark Tallis, Senior Art Director

Fee Millist, Senior Copywriter

Cass Jam, Senior Art Director

Darren Cole, Head of Design

Vanessa Saporito, Senior Designer

Caitlin Perz, Production Assistant

Reece Lawson, Digital Design Lead

David Halter, Chief Strategy Officer

Chris Howatson, Group CEO

Lorraine Gormley, Client Partner

George Robertson, Senior Account Director

Production Company: Revolver

Michael Ritchie, Managing Director/Co-Owner/Producer

Pip Smart, Executive Producer/Partner

Matt Devine, Director

Lachlan Milne, Director of Photography

Neven Connolly & Cass Merwood, Chorerographers

Post Production : ARC Edit 

Dan Lee, Editor

Ben Eagleton, Colourist

Daniel Fry, Executive Producer

Sound Post: Sonar Music

Timothy Bridge, Sound Designer

Sophie Haydon, Executive Producer

PHD

Noel Gate – Group Business Director

Erin Hudson – Business Director

Stefan Boden – Group Trading Director

Monique Gilbert – Activations Account Director

Dylan Long – Account Executive