Heathrow has released a Christmas video campaign for the first time. The film has premiered across YouTube, social media and in cinemas.
Heathrow has launched its first ever Christmas video campaign. Titled Coming Home for Christmas, the poignant film reminds people that returning for the holidays is the best gift of all. Set to a classic Chas and Dave soundtrack, the advert follows two ageing teddy bears as they land at the airport.
Currently running on social media and in cinemas, it depicts tender moments shared between the couple—from the wife gently waking her sleeping husband in his seat to his protective arm helping her onto the escalator. Adding authenticity, the short captures the familiar sights and sounds of the UK hub.
The narrative eventually transitions to the elderly bears’ emergence into arrivals, where they are seen searching the crowds for someone. The effort signals the next phase of the Heathrow brand campaign, marking its seventieth anniversary as well as follows its First Flight creative launched in the summer of this year.
The Havas production was filmed over three days while the airport was fully operational. The location management team behind the push, Salt, had to overcome complex logistical challenges across multiple terminals, restricted locations, and on the airfield. The film’s animation was done by The Mill.
Equally critical to the making of the commercial was its film direction, which was executed by DOM&NIC through Outsider Productions. Since the advertisement’s debut from four days ago on 14 November 2016, the heart-warming video has garnered close to one million (916,528) views on YouTube alone.
“Christmas is my favourite—the airport is abuzz with families reuniting for this time of year. We hope the bears’ journey captures that excitement you feel when walking through our arrivals into the arms of your loved ones at Christmas,” said Jonathan Coen, Commercial Director at Heathrow.
