ITV

Tag: Calum Laming

  • British Airways launches ‘Family in the Skies’ campaign

    British Airways launches ‘Family in the Skies’ campaign

    Mumbai: British Airways has launched a new TV advert and brand campaign, ‘Family in the Skies’, made for the Indian market and featuring India-based colleagues. Celebrating 100 years of flights between India and the UK, the campaign emphasizes the airline’s commitment to service through its people.

    The advert, developed by UK-based agency Uncommon Creative Studio and its Indian network, Uncommon Minds, showcases 25 colleagues, with an additional 78 appearing in the out of home campaign. Indian and British creative directors Tushar Menon and Kate Lloyd collaborated on the campaign, incorporating insights from Indian consumers and British Airways staff. The campaign, British Airways’ first in India since 2016, involves noted Indian creatives:

    ●    Filmmaker Prakash Varma directed the film 
    ●    Casting director Romil Modi selected the colleagues 
    ●    Acting coach Chandan Kumar prepared the team 
    ●    Photographer Avani Rai captured images for the campaign

    The two-minute film follows a young woman traveling to the UK. When her van breaks down en route to the airport, a British Airways bus arrives, and crew members invite her and her family on board, turning a stressful moment into a warm farewell. At the airport, she says goodbye to her family and continues her journey with British Airways’ support. This story underscores the airline’s dedication to customer care.

    British Airways chief customer officer Calum Laming stated: “We are so proud to have more than 2,500 Indian-based colleagues – making India our largest colleague base outside of the UK – and we are proud that more than 100 of them feature in this campaign. It showcases the huge amount of talent we are so lucky to have within our British Airways family and we could not be more thrilled to show this on a national scale in India. Not only does the campaign tell a story, but it shows who we really are.”

    The advert launches across India on 1 November, with versions in the UK, US, and Canada on cinema, YouTube, and social media. The out of home campaign begins 9 November, running in the five Indian cities British Airways serves: Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai. The airline operates over 50 flights per week to the UK, increasing to 60-plus in Summer 2025 with an additional daily service from Delhi.

  • British Airways has released its new safety video

    British Airways has released its new safety video

    Mumbai: May we haveth one’s attention, please? British Airways premieres its brand-new safety video, “A British Original Period Drama” inspired by some of Britain’s famous period literature, TV and film and starring more than 40 of the airline’s colleagues.

    The airline is refreshing its film to keep customers engaged in the important safety messages being delivered. Knowing the popularity of British dramas in the UK and overseas, the airline chose this genre to resonate with its global audiences.

    The film depicts ladies and lords of the manor, as well as housekeepers and butlers going about their everyday lives in period Britain, before being abruptly interrupted by present-day British Airways colleagues demonstrating the safety briefing.  

    At one point in the film, a 19th-century socialite marvels at a moving picture, more commonly known in the 21st century as a laptop, before being reminded to store personal electronic devices before take-off.  

    The characters continue to be bewildered by modern-day contraptions, and when posed with the question “Is it a winged creature of the air or, perchance, a celestial contrivance navigating the skies?” Ellis Brett, an Apprentice in Aircraft Maintenance, responds with “No, ma’am. That’s a British Airways A350.”

    Continuing to ensure colleagues remain at the heart of its campaigns, the film features more than 40 colleagues from across the airline, from pilots and cabin crew to engineers and airport colleagues, who play themselves in the film, as well as period drama characters.  

    When it came to location, the airline selected grand British country estates, including Hatfield House in Hertfordshire and Englefield House Estate in Berkshire to shoot the video.  

    Sharon Maguire, most widely known for her work on Bridget Jones’s Diary and Bridget Jones’s Baby, was chosen to direct the five-minute video because of her ability to demonstrate British comedy in a way that would engage with the airline’s global customers.  

    British Airways’ chief customer officer Calum Laming said: “We know that these videos deliver vital safety information, and it is so important that we do everything we can to keep our customers engaged throughout. When it came to selecting a genre, we wanted something that would enable us to do this, while resonating with global audiences, so a period drama with a little bit of humour seemed like the perfect fit.

    “We have created something truly original and entertaining that celebrates what makes Britain – and British Airways – unique while communicating the importance of safety on board. I am also incredibly proud that more than 40 colleagues star in the film as we have always said it is our people who make us who we are.”

    The renowned British director Sharon Maguire of the safety video, said: “We put together a dream team of industry legends, from Jenny Beavan to Kave Quinn and Erik Wilson to Jack Ravenscroft. We definitely wouldn’t have pulled it off without them. They just loved the idea created by the talented and lovely creative teams at Uncommon and British Airways.”

    A British Airways first officer Helen Lau who plays herself, said: “As a First Officer, my job means I am in the flight deck during the safety briefing, so to know that I will be appearing on the video in the cabins feels very surreal. I love the closing line which says stay safe, look after one another and never change, which featured in the previous video, and I hope is carried on to the next. It’s such a touching and uniting phrase.”

    In a nod to other British talent, the costumes worn by colleagues and actors throughout the video were designed by three-time Oscar® winning British costume designer Jenny Beavan. Colleagues also worked with renowned dialect coach, Jill McCullough, to perfect their accents.

    Customers flying with British Airways can enjoy menus featuring the best of British cuisine, inflight entertainment starring British talent, and products designed by British suppliers.