You notice them every time you travel right? The flashy posters plastering the walls, the pop up booths handing out pamphlets, even the occasional screen showing off trailers or commercials as you make your daily commute? While we often tend to ignore these advertisements, the makers of these commercials don’t ignore us. In fact, they often work hard to penetrate the psyche, so much so that the ads even incorporate the very transports you’re utilizing at that very moment. At right.video, we wanted to delve into the hustle and bustle of transport ads, showcasing the best ads that take advantage of the daily commute. Whether they involve planes, trains, or automobiles, these ads often showcase the brilliance behind incorporating all manner of public transport into their work, giving you a little dose of reality in brief snippets of the fantastic.
Director: Wally Pfister
Agency: BBDO
Carnival’s first Super Bowl, “Return to the Sea” was a siren call by the cruise line to beckon people to the oceans. Using a speech by US President John F. Kennedy as narration, the advert combines striking and beautiful imagery courtesy of frequent Christopher Nolan collaborator, Wally Pfister. This ad is nothing short of a love letter to the cruise ship lifestyle and does a truly remarkable job of capturing the majesty that beckons millions of people to travel along the world’s oceans.
Director: Thomas Falkenberg
Agency: M2Film
How do you make the public transit bus ‘cool’? Danish bus company Midttrafik seemed to nail the winning formula back in 2012 with a commercial that made the traditional bus ride seem like achieving nirvana with the pacing of an action film. This 2015 commercial, a direct follow-up to the 2012 effort, now focusing on the average bus rider, redoubles the ‘cool’ to its most extreme conclusion. With a light dose of explosions, adoring women, and perhaps the most unlikely of heroes, “Epic Bus – The Sequel” proved to be a follow-up of Michael Bay proportions for Denmark.
Director: John Hillcoat
Production Company: Stink LA
Agency: Publicis/180LA
Masterminded by Expedia, “Train” captures the romance of traveling all over the world, connected by the sage advice of a worldly traveler. Though the meat of the advert encapsulates far flung places such as India, Iran, and Tokyo, the commercial is bookended by scenic train rides as the travelers’ advice is passed on to another explorer. “Train” fuels the desire to seek out new experiences and also the positive changes one can make when indulging in the need to explore our world.
Director: Pete Candeland
Production Company: Friends Electric
Agency: adam&everywhereDBB, UK
The Famous Five are a series of British children’s books focusing on the eponymous children’s adventures in rural England. So, it made perfect sense for British railway provider Great Western Railway to incorporate these young adventurers for its marketing campaign promoting British tourism. This advert, the first of the campaign, showcases a perfect blend of commercial storytelling with a nostalgic art style reminiscent of the books’ covers from the 1950s. It’s a blend of advocating exploring the British country while mixing a classic staple of children’s literature for audiences of the 21st century.
Director: Daniel Wolfe
Production Company: Somesuch X Anonymous Content
Agency: BBDO
AT&T wanted to show off how much its unlimited plans allowed for all types of movie watching on their cellphones, so they devised this rather clever nod to both thrillers and Hollywood musicals. Taking advantage of a bus lifted right out of Speed, “Bus” switches between both genres at the drop of a hat seamlessly, reflecting the high-speeds that the American cellular network provides to its millions of customers. Its an advert that isn’t afraid to show off both the seriousness and the surrealism of the movies, making use of one of the most popular modes of transport in the United States.
Director: Lyndon Lloyd
Production Company: British Airways
Agency: 20th Century Fox
Before Freddie Mercury became world-renowned as the front man singer for Queen, he began work as a baggage handler for Heathrow Airport. In the lead-up to the release of the biopic musical Bohemian Rhapsody, 20th Century Fox and British Airways teamed up to celebrate the airline industry’s connection to Mercury with this earnest dance routine to the hit song “I Want To Break Free”. With modern baggage handlers dressed in full Freddie Mercury-regalia, it was a fun celebration to one of modern rock’s greatest lead singers.
Director: Johnny Green
Production Company: Anonymous Content
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Uber has helped revolutionize the taxi service with the creation of its app-based vehicle hire service, allowing for the use of car service at the touch of a button. This particular ad campaign focuses on the human aspect of the app, showcasing the countless drivers that make Uber sing across the United States and around the world.
Director: Jamie Delaney
Production Company: Antidote
Agency: Rothco
Dublin Bus conceived the Travel Assistance Scheme to allow passengers with disabilities to be able to travel throughout the city via its public transport. As part of the plan’s tenth anniversary, Dublin Bus commissioned this advert celebrating those who’ve been given the freedom to explore their city in ways they normally would be unable to. With gracious testimonials from long-time riders, “Freedom” focuses on the bus worker who conceived of the programme and his impact on the lives of passengers that’s equal parts heartwarming and uplifting.
Director: Simon K. Matthews
Production Company: Studio Yes
Agency: Cubaka
It’s not often that you see a commercial telling an earnest goodbye as it bows from service, but that’s what Virgin Trains did with the expiration of its railways contract in late 2019. How does a twenty-two year old company bid farewell? Simple, by throwing an extravagant party along the rails one final time with an uplifting music video rendition of (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life. With a cameo appearance from company founder Sir Richard Branson, “Final Whistle” was a tongue-in-cheek way to say goodbye to the long-running rail service.
Director: Djawid Hakimyar
Production Company: Partizan
Agency: Rosapark
Created to help promote France’s low-cost train service provider Ouigo, “Traffic Jam” is one of those adverts whose premise is right there on the tin. Paced with the right mix of tedium, scorching summer heat, and the perils of group traveling, the advert is designed to encourage travels to do away with the pitfalls of highway traffic by reminding them of the worse case scenarios. Not a word of dialogue is spoken and the monotony in the air is shattered with the piercing whirl of the Ouigo train service. For cheap, high-speed rail connections, this was an advert that promised to get you out of your own personal jam.
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Public transport has been both a quick and effective way of getting from one place to another in most countries, especially when one doesn’t have a car. These ads help capture the sense of the convenience that comes with these various transports, highlighting the romance of train travel to the mundanity of bus travel. You can find many of these ads here on the right.video search engine, among many others that focus on whatever mode of transport suits you the most. We hope that these choices are the perfect gateway to transport advertising and they might help you set the style and tone of your next video!
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