Air Transat takes to the streets and suggests Canadians go on vacation

Montreal, January 13, 2020 – Today, Air Transat launches its Vacation Intervention campaign. This cheeky offensive, tied to an exclusive promotion, aims to once again remind Canadians of the importance of vacations.

Every year, millions of vacation days are left unused in Canada. As a matter of fact, a research made in partnership with Angus Reid conducted with online Canadian members of the Angus Reid Forum shows that among those who have vacation days, 47% of Ontarians and 27% of Quebecers do not take all of them. Air Transat believes vacations are too important to leave behind.

“Air Transat is the vacation champion, reminding everyone that vacations should be a right, not a privilege,” said Genevieve LeBrun, Vice-President of Marketing at Air Transat. “Our new campaign is playful and fun, but it has a serious message at heart: Everybody deserves a vacation.”

The campaign, created in collaboration with Sid Lee, includes a series of reporter-on-the street videos in both English and French starring comedians Abdul Butt (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and Pascal Cameron respectively, as they seek out the most vacation‑deprived. The irreverent, bite-sized films were produced by Romeo et Fils with the keen eye of director William Fradette behind the camera.

This creative, multi-platform campaign also features interactive experiences tailored to Instagram and Facebook, which make users feel like they’re almost—but not quite—at the beach. Out-of-home ads feature semi-serious questions to help passersby decide if they’re ripe for a vacation intervention. In targeted newspaper ads, Air Transat asks readers if their reading habits might be leading them to shun vacations. In radio, Air Transat is posing tough questions to the most vacation-deprived. And web banners let everyone know it’s time to click away from the routine and go somewhere warm.

The Vacation Intervention Promo

Air Transat believes in the transformative power of vacations. So they’re launching The Vacation Intervention Promo to give everyone the chance to get away from it all. The promo offers savings of up to $1,000 per couple on South packages.

Credits

• Clients: Geneviève LeBrun, Guy Bourgeois, Valérie Martin
• Agency: Sid Lee
• Creative Director: Brian Gill
• Creative team: Andrew Lord, Jean-Christian Bizier, Étienne Goulet
• Account services: François Forget, Ariane Poitras, Camille Joly
• Strategy: Elisabeth Jamot, Carla Mavaddat
• Media: Sid Lee Média – Valérie Beauchesne, Nicolas Gagnon
• Sid Lee Studio production: Marie-Pier Lavoie-Sigouin, Marie-Claude Francoeur
• Production house: Romeo & Fils / William Fradette / Frédérick Quintal, France-Aimy Tremblay
• Editing: Benoit Marcoux, Paul Bergeron
• Social media: Nicolas Naulevade, Laurent Tremblay
• Colo / Online: Outpost
• Audio: La Majeure / Mathieu Morin

About Air Transat

Air Transat is Canada’s number one leisure airline. It flies to some 60 international destinations in more than 25 countries in the Americas and Europe, offers domestic and connecting flights within Canada, and carries some 5 million passengers every year. Air Transat is a business unit of Transat A.T. Inc., a leading integrated international tourism company specializing in holiday travel and offering vacation packages, hotel stays and air travel. Transat was awarded Travelife certification in 2018 in recognition of its commitment to sustainable development. Based in Montreal, it has 5,000 employees.

Recent distinctions and awards

• Named World’s Best Leisure Airline at the Skytrax World Airline Awards
• Voted Best Tour Operator and Favourite Overall Supplier at the Agents’ Choice Awards presented by Baxter Travel Media
• Voted Best Airline and Best Tour Operator at the Trophées Uni-Vers awards organized by the Association des Agents de Voyages du Québec
• Ranked among Canada’s Best Employers and first among airlines on Forbes magazine’s list

About the Survey

These are the findings of a survey conducted by Sid Lee from October 11, 2019 to October 14, 2019 with a representative sample of 1,004 online Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes, the poll is accurate to within +/- 3.1 percentage points across Canada; +/- 5.2 in Ontario and +/-6.3 in Quebec, 19 times out of 20. The Angus Reid Forum is Canada’s most well-known and trusted online public opinion community consisting of engaged residents across the country who answer surveys on topical issues that matter to all Canadians.