The inauguration of the new high tech version of Piccadilly's iconic electronic advertising site has prompted John Williams to forward a 1953 picture of it displaying an example of one of the best ever pieces of airline advertising.
Wrapped around the corner were two bold statements. The first was "BOAC to All Six Continents" That's fair. At the time the seventh continent, Antarctica, was seen by most as off the accessible map so didn't count. "We are a/the worldwide airline ius the message. It needs no further hype or explanation. The message is brilliantly understated in a very British way.
The second is the really clever one and stayed with BOAC in various forms until the merger with BEA. It reads simply "BOAC Takes Good Care of You". In some places the two messages were rolled into one "All over the world BOAC Takes Good Care of You". In the 50s ,60s and even 70s safety and reliability were much less taken for granted than now. Aircraft were much less dependable and many long haul journeys in particular were interrupted in one way or another. Advertising safety has always been taboo in the airline world but this ad did just that while avoiding the forbidden word. The implications about engineering , flight crew standards and even just being British were obvious. The bundle of messages in this tag line which was probably one of the best known in the world, imprinted themselves on people's minds everywhere. They were of huge value to the airline.
Finally there was the message that "Whatever happens/goes wrong we will look after you from beginning to end". No ifs no buts. That's not one that many, if any, airline would risk sending out in 2017. Volumes alone simply overwhelm that proposition.
Wrapped around the corner were two bold statements. The first was "BOAC to All Six Continents" That's fair. At the time the seventh continent, Antarctica, was seen by most as off the accessible map so didn't count. "We are a/the worldwide airline ius the message. It needs no further hype or explanation. The message is brilliantly understated in a very British way.
The second is the really clever one and stayed with BOAC in various forms until the merger with BEA. It reads simply "BOAC Takes Good Care of You". In some places the two messages were rolled into one "All over the world BOAC Takes Good Care of You". In the 50s ,60s and even 70s safety and reliability were much less taken for granted than now. Aircraft were much less dependable and many long haul journeys in particular were interrupted in one way or another. Advertising safety has always been taboo in the airline world but this ad did just that while avoiding the forbidden word. The implications about engineering , flight crew standards and even just being British were obvious. The bundle of messages in this tag line which was probably one of the best known in the world, imprinted themselves on people's minds everywhere. They were of huge value to the airline.
Finally there was the message that "Whatever happens/goes wrong we will look after you from beginning to end". No ifs no buts. That's not one that many, if any, airline would risk sending out in 2017. Volumes alone simply overwhelm that proposition.
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