Leo Burnett Sydney has won the creative pitch for the Australian creative account for Emirates.

Emirates is the world’s thirteenth largest airline by number of passengers flown, but fourth by passenger kilometres – the vast majority of its passengers are flying long distances. By August 2015, an Emirates aircraft was departing Dubai for Australia every two hours. It had become the largest international airline in Australia after Qantas.

In October, Emirates launched a US$15 million campaign to promote its hub, Dubai, underscored by Queen’s, Don’t stop me now, which was found in a study to be the most uplifting or “feel-good” tune on the UK charts in the past 50 years. One month later, it produced an ad for its first class service with Jeremy Clarkson.

The agency will develop local strategies and creative solutions for the evolving Australian media and digital landscape to make the brand even more meaningful and relevant for Australians.

Pete Bosilkovski, chief executive officer, Leo Burnett Sydney, commented, “We are both thrilled and honoured to be partnering with Emirates who has built a reputation as one of the world’s best airlines and continues to redefine and lead the travel and aviation market through innovation and customer experience. We love to partner with brands that share an obsession with customer experience and innovation and we look forward to collaborating with Emirates to help build on the tremendous affinity that exists for the brand in Australia. It’s with great pride that we announce this win.”

Christopher Galanto, senior vice president of advertising, Emirates, added, “Emirates can confirm that we have appointed Leo Burnett as the airline’s creative agency partner for Australia. During the RFP process, the Leo Burnett team demonstrated an excellent grasp of our strategic, brand and tactical communication requirements, and the ability to demonstrate inspiring creative work across channels. We look forward to working with them.”