With a multi-million-dollar budget to play with, Emirates has created some of the most memorable airline ads in recent years.
But which ones are the best? Here’s our top five Emirates commercials from over the years…
- Top of the world commercial – 2021
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A topical pandemic-era ad that was originally filmed to celebrate the fact that the British government had removed Dubai from its high-risk ‘Red List’ of destinations.
The ad first appeared on Emirates’ social media channels and at first, many viewers thought the now iconic images of an Emirates ‘flight attendant’ standing aloft the 828 metre high Burj Khalifa could only have been possible with the help of some CGI wizardry.
In fact, the commercial was filmed without any green screen or special effects and while Emirates wanted to use one of its own cabin crew members, the airline eventually decided to use a professional skydiving instructor.
The ad has since appeared in various TV spots and the concept is now also being used to advertise the Dubai World Expo.
- Hello Tomorrow campaign – 2012
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The Hello Tomorrow brand campaign remains iconic because it came at a time of rapid expansion for Emirates and it helped the airline introduce itself to new audiences around the world for the first time.
This ad is full of hope and promise for the future and was described as a “bold next step” for the airline.
Emirates worked with lead communications partner Strawberry Frog on the campaign who wanted to spark a movement rather than just create an ad. Strawberry Frog described the Hello Tomorrow campaign as repositioning Emirates from just another “travel brand to a global lifestyle brand”.
The Hello Tomorrow ad was specifically created to appeal to younger audiences from a broad range of backgrounds.
- Fly Better brand Campaign – 2018
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Like many of Emirates’ ads, this commercial accompanied a new brand campaign. In this case, this was one of two ads that helped to launch Emirates’ ‘Fly Better’ campaign that remains the airline’s tagline to this day.
A catchy tune was specially composed just for this campaign as the ad takes viewers on a whistletop tour around the world before ending up at the Burj Khalifa in downtown Dubai.
The ad features the latest Emirates’ products and designs that still make Emirates stand out from the crowd in 2021. The ad is edited with seamless transitions that have become a hallmark for the airline across its recent commercials.
- Jennifer Aniston has a nightmare – 2015
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As Emirates pushed its way into the U.S. market, it had a simple message – it offered levels of luxury and comfort that North American airlines thought were implausible. And to get that message across with impeccable comedic timing was none other than Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning actress Jennifer Aniston.
Emirates initially spent $20 million to secure TV spots for this worldwide campaign. The longer 60-second commercial above was quickly replaced with an abbreviated 30-second ad.
Aimed initially for the United States, the ad quickly went on to wow audiences in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, India and Australia.
The script was written with Aniston specifically in mind and it remains one of the few airline commercials out there that showcases a luxury product with humour.
A follow up ad in 2016, saw Aniston return to the skies on an Emirates A380 where she ended up finding out how comfortable the airline’s Economy class was.
- Emirates Keep Discovering – 2004
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The Keep Discovering campaign asked an important question: When was the last time you did something for the first time? The campaign and this ad in particular captured people’s attention in a way that Emirates had done before.
One of the most memorable and heratwarming scenes is seeing two grown men see snow for the first time in their lives. The scene of a helicopter taking off from the Burj Al Arab hotel, though, was the one that cemented Emirates’ position as a luxury airline that people wanted to fly.
This is the shortened version of the ad but a lesser seen two minute version was also made, although rarely shown.
