Egyptian National Airline “EgyptAir” is celebrating 85 years of service this year and have released a new advertisement to celebrate. The ad tagline chosen to celebrate their anniversary as “flying from the heart of Egypt, to the heart of the world.”
The company, established in 1932, was one of the world’s pioneer airlines and became the seventh carrier in the world. MisrAir, its original name, was originally created to serve local flights but soon became an international airline, sending planes across the world.
This year, they celebrate their 85th birthday with an ad targeted solely to Egyptians.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZzGsISk2dc
Slow launch on Digital Media
Unfortunately, the advert isn’t doing so well on many fronts. The ad, released yesterday, has already been put on the naughty list of many marketers this season due to its many faults. The international airline’s newest advertising spot has received a few attention and hence digital interaction, 41k within 24 hours.
The ad which focuses on the airline’s abilities to reach any spot worldwide, with its symbolic Horus themed airplanes slowly making its way through famous cities and landmarks such as Paris and London.
Along with the silly thought that a plane could make its way through the tight and crowded spaces of major metropolitan cities, the ad’s special effects and art quality seem to have not been strongly looked over.
While the video can be found in HD on YouTube, the airline’s Facebook video of the ad has been reduced in quality, becoming closer to something like 240P, rather than its HD counterpart which is 720P.
For sharp-eyed viewers, many can see popular stock videos being used in the ad. The plane sticks out as it is put in locations, such as the beaches it is shown to be on and in certain streets it passes.
The ad fails to launch what could have been a great anniversary due to its weak idea and weak implementation.
Failure to reach a wider audience
Egyptair’s biggest failure comes in the form of its song and message. Rather than focusing on improving future branding and relations with international consumers, Egyptair has decided to aim towards consumers in its local market. why?!
Egyptair’s new ad is focused exclusively on Egyptian consumers, but the airline is losing an important opportunity with its celebration of 85 years.
While it is important to improve relationships at home for many brands, an international airline should be aiming towards the future rather its current local market which is going through bad times.
For service companies, it has always been important to emphasize the amount of years it has been working as a way of proving authority due to age and continued service. Although many millennials do not trust this strategy, the majority of the world continues to choose experiences and well-established companies for travel.
By making the song in Arabic, the airline has blocked off the path for international consumers to watch or understand the video. In a time in which the airline is publicly stating their high losses due to economic issues, it is a strange time to be picky with their target audience.
The advert could have easily been used to improve the brand’s branding efforts in international communities. As to why they chose to specifically focus on a market they already have a strong hand one, being the main airline of Egypt, we may never know.
With its tagline “From the heart of Egypt, to the heart of the world,” If we think of Egypt as the heart of the world, EgyptAir tagline is taking us in a small route that starts in Cairo and ends somewhere in Egypt with zero chance for international exposure!
Let us know your thoughts on the ad in the comments.
