McCann Manchester’s wit combines with director, Greg Bray’s, flair for absurd humour to give travel search engine, Kayak, a distinctive edge.
Dan Noller, executive creative director at McCANN Manchester, explained, “The world doesn’t need another travel ad stitched together from generic holiday shots. We were much more interested in the moment before you book. Our chatty spokesbutton and a shape shifting room gave us a simple visual device to bring to life that feeling of discovering what’s possible in a way that’s playful, distinctive and unmistakably Kayak.”
The new brand campaign, Once you compare, you’re almost there, captures its audience’s imagination with the thrill that comes when holidays start to feel real. The hero commercial transforms searching a flight from a practical task into the beginning of the travel experience. Viewers are taken on a journey through a series of imaginative travel scenarios, capturing the anticipation that starts the moment a traveller hits search.
Michael Gray, senior director, creative at Kayak, noted, “What we love about this campaign is that it takes something genuinely useful, comparing flight prices, and turns it into a story about possibility. One moment Beth is searching for a flight, the next she’s imagining herself in completely different worlds before landing on exactly the trip she wants. It’s humorous, entertaining and full of charm, but underneath it all is the simple Kayak truth – once you compare, you’re almost there.”
Greg Bray commented, “In the beginning of the production process, we decided to shoot this for real. We briefly considered the use of AI, but decided for a more traditional approach. We wanted to focus on crafting great worlds, and performance, and for me that meant finding ways to make this the good old way. We explored shooting in the UK, but fairly quickly decided to shoot this in Bucharest. Where crafting great production design is possible – and more affordable.
“In Bucharest, I work with a wonderful team, including local DOP, Bogdan Filip, and amazing production design team led by Soren Dima. The local service production was carried out by Loops Productions led by Radu, Lupul and Andrei Pietrosel. Together with Sorin & Bogdan we created the individual worlds, the destinations we wanted to see be brought into Beth’s living room. Sorin and his team built two identical living room sets – and our plan was shot in one while the team set up the other.
“After all the prep and planning, we had a great pre-light and followed by two amazing shoot days. The client and agency were great on set, fully aware we had a lot to achieve – the collaboration and support we were shown made it all possible. The local teams in Bucharest are always amazing – and everyone worked incredibly hard to ensure the result was delivered, and everyone details was considered.
“I cast with the amazing Emma Garrett in London, and we were lucky enough to find the incredible Eleanor Grace. She was a dream come true, and I am so grateful to her for her hard work, dedication and amazing talent. Blasted with sand, being covered in snow, surviving the mosquitoes in the Amazon, and spending 45mins squishing herself into a wetsuit in the 30degree heat – she didn’t blink an eye.”
Credits:
Client: Kayak
Vice President: Carolina Montenegro
Creative Director: Michael Gray
Creative: Sarah Kolind
Social: Christina King
Creative Agency: McCann Manchester
Executive Creative Director: Dan Noller
Creatives: Conrad Robson & Lewis Dunlop
Design Director: Samantha Oxford-Dean
Head of Strategy: Jordan McDowell
Strategist: Katy Kitchen
Director: Greg Bray
