British Airways

Global face 1990 United Kingdom

This is possibly one of the best-known British Airways commercials, directed by Hugh Hudson. A group of swimmers in red arrive on the shore, while a group in blue comes from the city, and a group in white is on a field. "Every year, the World's Favourite Airline brings 24 million people together", the announcer says, while people from around the world embrace. The last frame shown above this description does not give justice to the beauty of this commercial's ending. The music is Malcolm McLaren's "Aria on Air", which resembles both Yanni's "Aria" and the so-called "Flower Duet". Perhaps this commercial was so beautiful and is so well-known that in 2007, it was spoofed in a Silverjet TV commercial directed by none other than Hugh Hudson again!

View this commercial (downloadable AVI movie, 6.56 MB, from YouTube user)

You'll find this and other great BA commercials, including "We'll take more care of you", on TVARK.

The British 1999 United Kingdom

P.J. O'Rourke, a U.S. political satirist, is an unforgettable figure in this award-winning commercial that makes fun of the British. Many stereotypes are depicted such as the cup of tea, cricket and curry. Where does this all lead to? That foreigners still love the British, to the extent that they made of British Airways "The World's Favourite Airline"! The boastful melody in the background is an excerpt of "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" from Gustav Holst's The Planets.

View this commercial (downloadable AVI movie, 8 MB, from YouTube user)

View extended version of this commercial (external link to YouTube)

India Mid 2000s United Kingdom

This is a charming image campaign, presumably aimed at the Indian market. Random British people go on with their lives. Out of the blue, realizing that their hand gestures almost mimic the gesture already, they do the traditional Indian greeting (Namaste) to the camera, while an appropriately modified version of the "Flower Duet" plays. This is both charming and respectful!

View this commercial (downloadable AVI movie, 3.33 MB, from YouTube user)

Manhattan Landing 1983 United Kingdom

This commercial was ahead of its time when it first aired in 1983. Borrowing from the sci-fi movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it features what appears to be an air traffic control centre guiding an aircraft, callsign "Manhattan", for approach and landing at Heathrow. Except that it's not your regular aircraft. It's actually... Manhattan. You'll see why.

View this commercial (downloadable AVI movie, 3.77 MB, from YouTube user)

View extended version of this commercial (external link to YouTube)

Space Late 1990s United Kingdom

Presumably on the International Space Station, a U.S. astronaut turns to his Russian cosmonaut to express much disdain about the space food. What happens on the British shuttle, docked nearby, is a whole different story. It's a posh atmosphere with strawberries, a cricket game on the television, and classical music. It happens to be British Airways' signature song, "Viens, Mallika" (colloquially known as the "Flower Duet").

View this commercial (downloadable MPEG file, 1.83 MB, from (?) the old AdCritic website)

Where is everybody? 1994 United Kingdom

This is a very bright, mysterious and funny commercial. Watch what happens when a man wakes up and finds out he's the only person left in town, in an eerie pastiche of the 1985 movie The Quiet Earth... You'll be pleasantly surprised!

View this commercial (downloadable MPEG file, 6 MB, from The Night of the AdEaters)

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