It seems that for the past month, everyone, including us at The Practice, have been talking about British Airways’ tear jerking advert, “A Ticket to Visit Mum”. Featuring beautiful cinematography and a heartwarming story, the 5-minute video is most definitely up there with the airline’s most compelling campaigns. So what does it show about the power of emotional video advertising, and what can we hope to see next?

If you haven’t seen it yet, the premise behind “A Ticket to Visit Mum” is that flying is more than just about travel: it’s about bring people together. It’s a time-old scenario, but the web video created by Ogilvy & Mather, explores familial connections beautifully. The story tells of a young man, Ratnesh, who moved to New York from his hometown, Mumbai, when he was 17, and hasn’t seen his mother in fifteen years. Desperate to see her son again, she cooks him his favourite childhood dish which British Airways offer to carry to him on one of their flights. She waits for someone from the airline to collect the food, but to her surprise, it is Ratnesh who comes through the door instead. The ad was intended to promote British Airways flight routes between the US and India, and convey the airline’s focus on making travel easy and accessible. The Practice team love the fact that the campaign goes beyond the idea of just “connecting the world”, to bring something that emotionally resonates with everyone- from the expat or immigrant, to estranged relatives across the globe.

It’s not the first time that the theme of cross-continental reunion has been used in a big campaign; Coca Cola, for instance, created something similar a few years ago with an online film that formed part of their “Where Will Happiness Strike Next” campaign. The campaign shows overseas Filipino workers reunited with their families for the holidays, after the beverage company surprised them with free flights. While Coca Cola’s advert is typical of the company’s play on its “Happiness” theme, we’re used to seeing more corporate ads from British Airways highlighting their service, on board features, and new aircrafts. Previous campaigns, for example, have included “Man vs Plane” which shows South African rugby player, Bryan Habana, (who famously raced a cheetah!), race against an A380 during taxi, in order to promote the new fleet. And their successful 2011 campaign, “To Fly. To Serve.” draws upon the company’s heritage to emphasise their dedication to customer service. So “A Ticket to Visit Mum” strikes us as an unusual move, yet one we think British Airways will hope to continue in the future; after all, with more YouTube views than any of its predecessors, it’s evident that emotional advertising will always have the strongest pull with online viewers.

What did you think of “A Ticket to Visit Mum”? And do you think the airline’s campaign will help aid customer relations in the future? We’d love to hear your thoughts as always, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.