OgilvyOne BA ads could rule DMAs

OgilvyOne could soon be cocking a snook at its British Airways client after bagging a total of 9 awards – including a grand prix and five golds – at last week’s Cannes Lions just weeks after losing a large chunk of the business.
The final haul for the agency saw it pick up the grand prix in the Direct Lions, a gold and two bronzes in Promo & Activation, two golds in Media, a gold in Outdoor and a gold and silver in the Cyber Lions.
And, if the previous success of its Gnome campaign for industrial weighing scales manufacturer Kern & Sohn is anything to go by, the agency could be cleaning up at this year’s DMA Awards too.
The Gnome activity won a silver at both the Cannes Lions Direct and the Echo Awards in 2012 but went on to pick up gold in nine of the DMA’s 38 categories, as well as the grand prix and a silver.
The BA “magic of flying” campaign certainly won glowing praise from the judges at Cannes. The ads located on digital screens in Piccadilly Circus and Chiswick in London, featured a child pointing to BA aircraft as they travelled above, accompanied by flight numbers and the destinations they were arriving from. It then displayed a call-to-action message for audiences to delve into the wealth of information about that travel route on BA’s website.
The chairman of the Direct Lions category James McGrath, who is creative chairman of Clemenger BBDO Group, Australia, said: “This is an iconic piece of work that really targeted a moment. Connecting a universal idea with real-time data and technology, this ad captures a feeling and ignites a passion in all of us to explore the world.”
OgilvyOne lost part of the account in May after Simon Hall and Warren Moore set up a joint venture with Bartle Bogle Hegarty to win the airline’s loyalty programme.
In a move that took the industry by storm, the former bosses of Hall Moore CHI will now serve BA’s direct and loyalty marketing business. OgilvyOne continues to hold BA’s creative technology business.

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