Heathrow Airport Christmas Ads Show That the Most Special Festive Memories Are Those Made with Loved Ones

Heathrow has launched its festive campaign for 2023 bearing the seasonal message that the most special festive memories are those made with loved ones - and often when departing or arriving at the UK’s largest airport. 

The campaign looks to avoid the traditional Christmas cliches by focusing on intimate moments between travellers departing on their festive journeys and the memories they go on to make. 

The integrated campaign, created by St Luke’s, showcases the airport’s departure experience through three heart-warming, human stories, each focusing on a different group of travellers. 

The three films were shot on location in Terminal 5, which remained open during filming.

In the first ad, “Love”, a young couple are inspired to look forward to future holidays together after seeing another older couple at the airport. Both actor couples featured in this film are also couples in real-life, packing a genuinely authentic emotional punch. 

The second ad, titled “Arrival”, centres around a multi-generational family about to take a trip to New Delhi. Amidst the hubbub of the family sharing a pre-fight meal at Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food, a photo triggers a memory of a similar trip they took seven years ago. As they look back on this moment together, some exciting news from the young couple gives them all something to look forward to. 

The third film, “Keepsake”, focuses on a father and daughter as they share a heartfelt moment reminiscing about their dearly departed loved one. The young woman gets upset, until her father passes her a handkerchief that had belonged to granddad - to which she reveals she’s already wearing his lucky coin around her neck on a necklace chain. They raise a toast: “Grandad - always with us”. This film was shot in the world-exclusive Fortnum & Mason bar at T5.

Each film has a touching twist and ends with the tagline “Heathrow. The best memories start here”. The films were directed by Ed Morris through Riff Raff Films.

The campaign will run for two months across TV, VOD, cinema, DOOH, OOH and social media in the UK, including OOH TV in Spitalfields Market and Lakeside Shopping Centre, from 6 November. 

Meenal Varsani, Heathrow’s head of marketing and customer engagement, says, “Travelling during the festive season imbues a special meaning to the journey: the people you travel to see, and travel with.  In our new campaign ‘On this day’ different traveller memories are celebrated as new experiences and memories are made”. 

Rich Denney, joint CCO at St Luke’s, adds, “The airport is a special place that can trigger memories for many of us as we set off on new adventures. The departure halls also signal the start of a journey, and so it’s fitting that the characters in these films are on their way towards new beginnings at the most wonderful time of the year.”

The campaign aims to position Heathrow as the launchpad for extra special festive journeys for everyone - whoever you are and whatever you’re celebrating. It builds on last year’s Christmas spot, also by St Luke’s, where Heathrow encouraged travellers to “depart as you mean to go on”.