The Business Problem.

Virgin Atlantic was launching a new route from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv. They wanted to provide viable competition to the two leading airlines on the route, BA and EL AL however they had limited awareness in TLV and expected 70% of business on the route to be sales from TLV. Not wanting to carry out two launch campaigns, they wanted one creative campaign that would resonate with both the UK and Tel Aviv markets.

The Context.

Israeli travellers were favouring established brands over low cost competitors - showing they were valuing trust and status over price. To get flyers to reconsider, Virgin needed to show that they weren’t just another faceless option on SkyScanner but instead build trust through showing their understanding and respect of the Israeli lifestyle and attitude. They needed to go from being the unknown outsider to the airline of choice.

The Insight.

Israeli’s are famous for the fire in their belly, their spirit of their entrepreneurship and their fierce negotiation skills. However cultural research discovered that self deprecation and a belief in not taking life, or yourself, too seriously is also key to the Israeli mindset - values that are shared by both the Virgin Atlantic brand and the British. This shared sentiment offered us a rich creative territory to create an idea which resonated across both markets, whilst also demonstrating respect and appreciation of the culture of Tel Aviv.

The Strategy.

Get Israeli travellers to view Virgin Atlantic as their choice of airline between Tel Aviv and London by demonstrating a shared value of not taking life too seriously.

The idea.

To put to the test Israeli’s title as the best negotiators in the world, Sir Richard Branson surprised locals in the city’s famous Jaffa Market, by offering them the chance to barter with him for flights to London. Jaffa locals went toe to toe with Branson at his ‘Come Flea with Me’ travel agency, as they tried to get the best deal out of the international businessman. The pop up shop demonstrated an appreciation of a key pillar of Israeli culture and earned Virgin respect through their appreciation of driving a hard bargain.