Thomas Cook has unveiled its first major ad campaign since declaring bankruptcy in 2019, following a six-month delay.
The 30-second advertisement brings back the original slogan ‘Don’t just book it, Thomas Cook it’ to highlight the travel brand’s return to the holiday scene this summer.
The news comes as many travel companies continue to receive bad press amid reports of excessively long queues and stranded travellers. Most recently, Wizz Air chief executive József Váradi told staff to ignore their fatigue and work overtime to ensure customers were not delayed.
The video, produced by McCann Birmingham, was originally produced in November last year, but was delayed by Thomas Cook’s CMO Ryan Cotton in order to better place the campaign ahead of summer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pbu5aW6Axo
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Various travellers and holiday-goers can be seen enjoying the beach, food and hotel swimming pools in the new TV spot. ‘Try it’, ‘boss it’, ‘lounge it’, and ‘photo bomb it’ are among a few of the strap-lines mentioned in the video.
“People will be surprised to see a Thomas Cook advert because a lot of people still don’t know we’ve come back,” Cotton told The Drum.
“But when they see it, they’ll think ’if you are on TV, you must be real and you must be operating’.”
“As part of the advert development, we tested various lines and ‘Don’t just book it’ had broad appeal – even for those who might not remember it from the 90s heyday.”
“For those who were brought up hearing the line, it will hopefully put a smile on their face as they remember the fun of their childhood holidays and how Thomas Cook has been a much-loved brand for so many generations.”
Dentsu-owned iProspect will run the media for a month from today across TV, radio, online video and display.
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