I am lucky enough to have seen 'Paddington' recently and also to have flown with Etihad Airways.
So I can say with some confidence that Nicole Kidman is a fine actress and that Etihad provides excellent customer service.
Nicole fronting Etihad's new luxury package ought to have been a match made in heaven.
The visuals are sumptuous, there is lots of slow-mo and a haunting, middle-eastern-y musical theme. There is one whole minute to impress us and 'land' the message (sorry). What could possibly go wrong?
The idea seems to be that Etihad's new package (a cabin on the A380, yours for £12.5k apparently) is not flying reinvented but is Flying Reimagined.
A subtle distinction - and one which the copy does not clarify. In fact, the copy seems to have been designed not to make sense but to make sounds to accompany the visuals. Copywriting Reimagined.
The problem may be that old, 'retrofit the strategy into the copy' trick. Or perhaps the copy is mis-translated from the original Arabic (into Tuareg, then Farsi) into English. Or maybe it is just very badly written.
Not only does it not mean anything, it's about as elegant as a sack of hammers. For example:
'... bored by reinvention of the superficial kind ... because their goal isn't to improve on what has been done before but to totally reimagine it ...'
I sounds as if someone has been through the script and removed all the punctuation. Grammar, Reimagined.
Here is the transcript on YouTube; odd to say the least, but possibly a slight improvement on the original.
"occasionally people come along when not content simply moving things in they want she's the Tara plans start again take another group game see the future and knock down walls to reach 62 between is possible Japan indecision intake running 10 into the engine by reinvention into submission the mountain stable is in to improve on what has been done before totally the match and ok"
Nicole and Etihad have been quite heavily criticised for the campaign. Not over the copywriting but over Etihad's commercial and labour practices, vs Nicole's role as a Unicef ambassador for women's rights.
Etihad's response? Call for the same copywriter to draft a statement:
“Our crew are entitled to the full scope of benefits in line with UAE laws, but we choose to go further. Etihad provides many benefits that exceed those requirements significantly, such as housing allowances, comprehensive medical insurance, education expenses, company-wide performance bonuses, robust HR practices, career advancement opportunities ..."
@perfect_siobhan would have been proud. Paddington would have seen through it. But perhaps Nicole should have known better.
Comments