Qantas revives ‘I still call Australia home’ campaign as international travel remains a distant dream
Qantas has again revived Peter Allen’s 1980 song ‘I still call Australia home’ in a social media video that features children from the The Australian Girls Choir and The Gondwana National Choir performing the song through individual recordings.
‘I still call Australia home’ has been used in Qantas’ marketing since the 1990s. It is still regarded as one of the airline’s most successful campaigns. Most recently it was used in the 2018 in-flight safety video.
This iteration, however, comes at a time when international travel and the airline industry have ground to a halt.
Elliott Wheeler, of Turning Studios, is the composer and musical director of the latest rendition of the song. Wheeler has also been working with Qantas on the launch of its centenary campaign.
Qantas chief customer officer, Stephanie Tully, wants Australians to remain inspired about making travel plans.
“If isolation and travel restrictions have shown Australians anything, it’s how much they value seeing the people and places they love,” Tully said.
“As domestic and trans-Tasman travel restrictions begin to ease, we hope this short video inspires people to start thinking about their next trip, particularly to destinations that are a little closer to home.”
A recent survey of Qantas Frequent Flyer members showed that 85% are looking forward to planning their next trip.
The children featured in the ad range from ages 8 to 18. They are located all over Australia, including Toowoomba in Queensland, Albany in WA and Wollongong in NSW.
Creative agency, The Monkeys, was tasked with compiling the footage of the children singing, filmed on phones by parents and siblings.
In a LinkedIn post, The Monkey co-founder and group CEO, Mark Green, said “‘I still call Australia home’ never fails to move people”.
Earlier this year, Qantas released a new, eight-minute long in-flight safety video, which traces the history of the airline whilst celebrating its centenary.
With travel restrictions in place due to COVID-19, Qantas stood down 20,000 workers in March and is operating just 5% of flights in its domestic network.
I was expecting something truly great; and yet using the over-used technique of people performing via zoom, interspersed with some standard tourism beauty shots, resulted in disappointment.
Nothing wrong with the ad…but the wow factor was missing.
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Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. See ABC promo which has been running since, I think, either March or early April.
https://youtu.be/RY_tl-N93AY
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Poor old Peter would be turning in his grave.
This is not a song for children.
He was a sophisticated cabaret performer and songwriter who lived a life on his own terms.
Give ‘em something from the Wiggles to sing.
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I think it’s wonderful. Perfectly on brand and certainly hits the pride button, well it did for me anyway.
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It’s so cheesy and yet it’s really quite beautiful. Sometimes I think about how hard this time must be for children and the line ‘someday we’ll all be together once more’ was way more poignant than usual. Remember how much you needed your school friends when you were a kid? And how exhausting and alienating Zoom calls can be? These kids did a fab job with this song.
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Opening lines of song: “I’ve been to cities that never close down, from New York to Rome and old London Town”… Ironic much?
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Where were the National Boys Choir??! Can’t have a QANTAS add without them surely!!
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