Air Canada invites Americans to 'test drive Canada' in new ads
Playful ad campaign has some fun with celebrity interest in moving to Canada for fear of Donald Trump
Air Canada is playfully inviting Americans to "test drive Canada," in a new ad campaign that pokes gentle fun at the big rise in U.S. queries about immigrating.
Without mentioning presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has sparked vows from celebrities to move north if he's elected in November, Air Canada's ad plays off the current disgruntled mood in the U.S. to propose a quick trip to Canada.
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"Before you sell the house and get the one-way ticket, maybe it makes sense to check us out first," a fresh-faced customer service agent says in one ad.
"Come on up and test drive Canada. Make it a long weekend and look around. Try your hand at the metric system," she continues.
The ads touch on Americans' distaste for their own electoral politics, while staying free of any overt partisanship. Google searches on "how can I move to Canada" have been rising since March, and another whimsical campaign called "Cape Breton if Trump wins" has generated millions of queries about travelling to the region.
Air Canada follows up its friendly invitation by pointing out that it operates 240 flights daily from U.S. cities to Canada.
J. Walter Thompson created the campaign, which appears on social media and in five large U.S. cities.
Hey <a href="https://twitter.com/lenadunham">@lenadunham</a>, heard you might be moving to Vancouver. We'd like to help you <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TestDriveCanada?src=hash">#TestDriveCanada</a> first:<a href="https://t.co/ualhBvHa8x">https://t.co/ualhBvHa8x</a>
—@AirCanadaOther ads in the campaign make the most of celebrities announcing that they might consider moving to Canada, with one version inviting Lena Dunham to make a TV show in Vancouver and another suggesting Raven-Symoné visit first to check things out before getting her family to follow suit.
"Before you buy your one-way tickets for the rest of your crew, it's probably best if you test drive Canada first. Maybe even pick a future city of residence," says the spot, playing off Raven-Symoné's vow to move north if a Republican is nominated for president.
Air Canada is promoting the campaign on Twitter with the hashtag #TestDriveCanada.