To promote the benefits of a stopover in Iceland, a new social campaign for Icelandair by Kubbco and Hvíta Húsið introduces ‘The Polite Tourist Bouncer’ whose sole job is to ensure travellers don’t miss their connecting flight.
Rolled out on YouTube and across social media, the campaign highlights the benefits of Icelandair‘s classic stopover offering, where customers can book a stopover in Iceland between European and North American destinations. Centred around a mockumentary-style film, it showcases Icelandair’s very own ‘Polite Bouncer’, Hugi, whose job is to ensure tourists do not overstay their stopover and make it to their final destination. But because of their love for Iceland, this is easier said than done.
Produced and directed by Guðmundur Þór Kárason, the campaign is supported by a series of content pieces and behind-the-scenes extras. It is the first in a number of spots, also created by Kubbco – the next one of which is planned for early next year and promises to introduce ‘The Returning Stopover Tourist’. This latest push comes after the brand’s global marketing campaign, ‘Easy to stop, hard to leave’, launched earlier this year.
Of course, booking a stopover in Iceland is nothing new, as travellers have been able to enjoy a stay in the Nordic island country since the 1960s at no extra cost in terms of airfare as people cross the Atlantic. “The Icelandair Stopover is an important component of our business model, and one we want to continue to grow and raise awareness of,” says Gísli Brynjólfsson from Icelandair. “With this new series, we’re excited for the next stage of our campaign, continuing to offer consumers a new way of viewing transatlantic travel. We want to turn something normally seen as an ordinary part of a journey into an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime part of their trip.”
The role of the earnest ‘tourist bouncer’ is played beautifully by Oddur Júlíusson, as he hunts down a traveller who is enjoying the local sights and keeps disappearing whenever he tries to remind them of their flight. There’s even a little appearance by the “legendary Icelandic sheepdog” who’s instructed to “hurdle all the tourists together”.
It’s an entertaining spot that not only shares beautiful local landmarks (therefore advertising much of what Iceland has to offer) but also manages to tap into the “loveable and warm spirit of Iceland”, as Emils Lukasevics, chief creative director at Kubbco, explains: “On top of that, we’ve created a unique social-first campaign that is shareable, engaging, and will bring more tourists to Iceland for a stopover. It’s great to see a brand like Icelandair embrace social-first campaigns instead of doing cut downs of commercials made for TV – which is not favoured by either platform or the audience.”