AMV BBDO Seizes the Holiday in New Campaign for Virgin

Virgin Holidays newest marketing campaign will launch on December 22nd with a hero television commercial to promote its January sale.

The advert features one hundred people – some of them real Virgin Holidays customers – running down a Barbados beach in dramatic slow motion.  An aerial shot from above shows they’re racing for hundreds of floating lilo’s which spell out the word SALE while a voiceover comments:  “The Virgin Holidays Sale, it won’t last forever”

The idea brings to life the sheer size and scale of the Virgin Holidays sale in an exciting and entertaining way.  It provides an engaging visual representation of how fleeting it is, and has been devised and created by AMV BBDO.

The tour operator is expected to take as much as 40% of its annual revenue during this key trading period, and the new campaign has been designed to instil a sense of urgency in the customer.

This is the first extension of Virgin Holidays critically acclaimed #SeizeTheHoliday proposition that launched in September with an 18-location live television advert, and provides an indication as to how the company intends to use its new communications platform over the following years.

The company is also investing heavily in marketing throughout this period to turn what is commonly known for discount-based trading, to an ‘occasion-based’ moment – in the same way Harrods have achieved popular recognition of their sales period.          

The premier of the television commercial will take place at 7.15pm on Thursday December 22nd during ITV’s Emmerdale.

Claire Cronin, Director of Customer & Marketing at Virgin Holidays, commented:  “If you’re planning a holiday in 2017 this is the month to grab the best deals – it’s as simple as that.  We’re committed to growing the reputation of our sale over the next few years so everyone knows if they want the best value holidays, now is the time to buy.”

Jay Kossifos, Head of Brand & Campaigns at Virgin Holidays, commented:  “Our new Seize The Holiday platform is designed to show everyday people that the world is literally at their fingertips – we hope we’ve delivered the message in a slightly different way in our sales period, as we did with our live advert in September.  Whatever way people interpret this, the message is simple:  don’t just sit there and let the world pass you by.”

The Virgin Holidays Sale starts on December 26th and will run until the end of January.  For more information please visit virginholidays.co.uk.