Virgin Australia is putting the joy back into flying with an utterly amusing brand campaign that centres on a flying toupee.

The campaign via DDB Sydney delivers the feeling of flying with Virgin Australia launched with the film: ‘Up, Up and Toupee’.

Virgin Australia undertook extensive research on drivers for airline travel within Australia, which informed the development of the campaign.

This research revealed the airline needed to re-emphasise the famous Virgin personality and the overall customer experience.

As a result, DDB and Virgin Australia worked together to determine how best to communicate this customer experience and Virgin personality through the new brand positioning.

The new brand positioning, ‘Feel good flying’, is designed to create an emotional connection with Australians and cut through a cluttered market.

Set to Jo Cocker and Jennifer Warnes’ iconic tune ‘Up Where We Belong’, the ad follows Wiggy, the unconventional lead character, as he rediscovers how amazing flying is, and the joy of seeing the big, wide world on his way to the family’s holiday destination.

Brought to life by Revolver/Will O’Rourke’s Gary Freedman and Moving Picture Company, it’s a journey of ease and effortlessness, and most importantly, fun.

Virgin Australia GM of brand and marketing Michael Nearhos said it is a natural fit for the Virgin brand to reach people on an emotional level.

“We know our Virgin personality is so widely loved, and we are so proud to hero this through our new brand campaign. Our focus from a customer experience perspective is always on how our famous service and product make people feel, and it’s really important to us to emphasise this in our new brand positioning.”

DDB Sydney CCO Tara Ford said: “In a complicated world, it’s been an absolute pleasure to create something that’s so unique, simple and joyful. Fun but with an edge of cheekiness and irreverence – which is perfect for recapturing and igniting the Virgin Australia brand.”

The integrated TV campaign will be supported by digital, print, out of home, and cinema.

CREDITS

Virgin Australia:

Danielle Keighery – Chief Experience Officer

Michael Nearhos – General Manager Brand & Marketing

Rapthi Thanapalasingam – Head of Consumer & Partner Marketing

Erina Chapman – Brand & Retail Marketing Leader

Alex Davey – Brand Marketing Specialist

DDB:
Ben Welsh – Chief Creative Officer, DDB Australia

Tara Ford – Chief Creative Officer, DDB Sydney

David Jackson – Creative Partner

Jeremy Hogg – Creative Lead

Richard Shaw – Creative Lead

Kate Sheppard – Managing Partner

Claire Hynes – Senior Business Director

Ciara Moloney – Business Manager

Tash Johnson – Lead Senior Producer

Leif Stromnes – Managing Director, Strategy & Innovation

Caroline Ghatt – Planning Partner

Joseph Smeaton – Planning Director

James Davis – Senior Planner
Casey Machen – Project Director

Kelly Barnaby – Project Manager

Cushla Morton – Senior Print Producer

Film: 

Production Company – Revolver / Will O’Rourke

Director: Gary Freedman

Managing Director: Michael Ritchie

Executive Producer: Pip Smart

Producer: Alex Kember

Edit Facility: Arc

Editor: Peter Sciberras

Post Production: Moving Picture Company, UK

VFX Post Producer: Philip Whalley

Sound: Song Zu

Sound Engineer: Abigail Sie / Simon Kain

Music Supervision: Level Two Music

Music Supervisor: Karl Richter

Casting: Peta Einberg / Ben Parkinson Casting

Photography:

Production Company – Photoplay

Photographer – Michael Corridore

Executive Producer – Alison Lydiard