German carrier Lufthansa recently launched an advertising campaign around the FIFA World Cup. As part of the initiative, the airline released a short one-minute video called The Great Swap. A camera pans through distinct cities, airports, streets and landscapes, showing what is believed to be the greatest shirt exchange of all time.
While the ethics surrounding this World Cup are questionable, this is a fun, quick ad that ran on November 9 and is of a type we haven’t seen much of since March 2020. While many of the recent ads two years focused on reconnection, with an underlying message of health and safety, this ad doesn’t even touch on the pandemic, which is a relief.
“Football connects. Lufthansa brings us together. All of us.” This is the final message of the video with the hashtag #DiversityWins
The “Diversity Wins” message is a values-based message that warns customers that Lufthansa agrees with some of Qatar’s discriminatory stances against certain groups. The campaign politely avoids an open response to allegations against the host country that could create a politically charged situation.
Of course, Lufthansa is just one of dozens of giant global brands launching campaigns around the tournament. AdAge organizes sponsor-launched FIFA World Cup ads here.
Lufthansa is the official airline of the German men’s football team. The airline flew the team’s players, coaches and support staff to Dubai earlier this month on an Airbus A330 painted in a “Diversity Wins” image. To commemorate the FIFA World Cup in Doha, Lufthansa also launched a special edition duck – offered as a souvenir to travelers visiting the First Class Lounge or First Class Terminal in Frankfurt – wearing a blue shirt with a white stripe while holding a ball Football.
Where sport, travel and work meet
Travel builds connections and empathy, and the World Cup puts those affiliations on a grand scale.
While Lufthansa is aligning itself with global diversity at the World Cup, this major event is also the embodiment, or a prime example, of the Grand Fusion we often write about at Skift—where the silos of business and leisure travel are breaking down . .
Many of the fans traveling to Doha will be attending for a mix of leisure (watch the games), business (either local meetings or remote work) and visits with family and friends.
These mixed travel types are part of the continued strength shown by the premium leisure travel segment driving travel demand for Lufthansa.
In fact, Lufthansa’s busiest days of the week are now Thursday and Sunday, Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr said on the group’s third-quarter earnings call in October, following a shift in travel patterns. trip to multiple mixed trips.
This demand is part of what prompted Lufthansa’s decision to engage in a €2.5 billion ($2.5 billion) upgrade to its onboard products, including more premium seats.
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