By Jalaja Ramanunni
Looks like Santa needed a bigger sleigh this year.
A day before Christmas, Emirates surprised us all and dropped a video with a jolly note, ‘Captain Claus, requesting permission for take-off. Merry Christmas from Emirates.’
The video shows an Airbus A380 taking off with a little help from Santa’s reindeers. The aircraft plopped with a Santa hat gets pulled by reindeers along a runway and it lifts off into the sky. Emirates is no stranger to bold advertising and is clearly focusing on its social media. The video had over 2.5 million likes and was shared over 328k times on TikTok as of today. On Instagram, the video was liked over 1.46 million times.
UAE-based Emirates Airlines’ in-house social media team developed the concept in-house, filmed the video and worked in collaboration with 100 Pixels to execute the visual effects. @100pixels is managed by creative director and VFX and 3D artist Mostafa Eldiasty.
100pixels has previously created videos about Dubai that went viral. Just last month, 100pixels shared a video of an Emirates aircraft in the air flapping its wings, which was shared by H.H Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai. Some of 100pixels’ other viral posts include Dubai-based videos about Museum of the Future, Dubai Frame, Halloween zombies taking over the streets and a dragon landing in Address Sky View.
It’s not the first time that Emirates Airlines posted a video that went viral. Last year, their campaign featured an Emirates cabin crew member in uniform standing on the tip of the Burj Khalifa – 828 metres above ground. She is among a handful of individuals who stood at the pinnacle of the world’s tallest building – including Tom Cruise and the Crown Prince of Dubai, H.H Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. More recently in August this year, Emirates launches an ad campaign featuring Gerry the goose where Gerry is spotted smugly bypassing his counterparts as they fly outside the aircraft window.
Watch the Airbus A380 take off for Christmas here.
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