Originally Posted by
cmd320
I don't find it negative at all. For anyone who's ever had to endure a US airline on a flight longer than two hours, it's very accurate and familiar. Surly crews, poor catering, drab/ancient cabins, etc. Is there exaggerated staging for the purpose of advertising? Of course, I challenge you to find me an ad that doesn't have that. The only negative thing here is an accurate portrayal of US airline cabin.
Here are the problems in my view. First, at a visceral level it doesn't work. There is no much wow/glitz factor, even though the product is actually glitzy, they made it look worse that it actually is, lol. Second, the actual product is on screen about 8 seconds total (a narrow view of the bed in 0:39-0:43, and a wide view shot of the bar right after, with the rest being the bar conversation close-up). The first 40 seconds are drab and dreary ("the nightmare"), evoking negative visceral reactions. I am sure this was meant to be associated with the US3, and then be contrasted to EK. However, I don't think this works, the "grey" first 40 seconds permeate the feel of the ad and are eventually associated with EK. At best, the message is "fly EK that is at least tolerable, compared to the competition".
Contrast that to the KE campaign, where the product is actually made to look better than it is, with strong positive visceral associations with aspirational images and sounds everywhere.