For people who won’t have a chance to fly off to one of Air Canada’s 50 sun destinations, this feel-good campaign is serving up a musical voyage with island beats to add a bit of heat to their winter! Vibes from Down South is a one-of-a-kind initiative that invites the listener on a melodic journey down south thanks to reimagined Quebec winter classics.
In December, Air Canada released collaborations featuring some rising stars on the Quebec music scene and artists from down south, who reinterpreted popular holiday tunes—Mike Clay performed a Mexican-style cover of “Vive le vent” to the rhythms of Mariachi Gallo de Oro, and Soran and Jamaican musicians from the Alpha Boys Music School gave “Winter Wonderland” a reggae flavour.
January 30 saw the addition of two brand-new collaborations to lend some warmth to the Quebec winter. Alicia Moffet and Dominican band Papi Naranja teamed up to create a sun-kissed rendition of Vincent Vallières’s “Février” featuring a merengue beat, while Roxane Bruneau crafted a Cuban salsa-inspired version of Dominique Michel’s “Maudit Hiver” with the help of musical ensemble Ecos Del Tivoli.
These songs are available now on Air Canada’s Vibes from Down South playlist on Spotify.
“We’re delighted to have worked with these homegrown artists, who lent their talent to this project to allow people to be transported through the discovery of the synergy between musicians from here and abroad. The result is unique content that goes behind advertising and resonates with Quebecers. It felt very natural for us to create a musical project that celebrates diversity and highlights the meeting of cultures—it’s perfectly in tune with our values,” said Martine Boulerice, Director, Brand Marketing – Quebec and Aeroplan, at Air Canada.
To bring this authentic and enriching musical experience to life, project team members travelled to Cuba and the Dominican Republic to meet the members of Ecos Del Tivoli and Papi Naranja. Being on site added another dimension to these collaborations, as it allowed the team to connect with the musicians and capture their distinctive island sounds, which were then layered with the interpretations of our homegrown artists.
An original rollout with music at the heart of the experience
The campaign is based on an innovative creative and strategic approach that leverages a Spotify playlist as the central element of the customer experience. To raise the visibility of the covers, it was important to cast a wide net and make this trip down south accessible across multiple touchpoints by using the musical aspect as the hook.
The remixes, along with QR codes for instant enjoyment, are featured in various display formats, including musical bus shelters that turn a chilly wait into a sunny getaway.
At the centre of the digital component of this campaign is a documentary-style video that takes us behind the scenes of this unprecedented meeting of Quebec and Cuban musical stylings, with Roxane Bruneau and ensemble Ecos del Tivoli.
Influencer and media relations initiatives rounded out the launch strategy, which included sending out personalized packages that contained a portable speaker for enjoying the southern vibes on the go. The artists themselves jumped on the bandwagon and produced content to share this unifying project with their respective communities.
Finally, to make Vibes from Down South shine on a wider scale and foster engagement, the brand teamed up with Cogeco Force Radio stations to have our renditions added to their programming—a first in the world of ad campaigns—and hold a contest. By spotting songs from the Vibes from Down South playlist in the radio station’s rotation, listeners could win an Air Canada gift card worth up to $2,000.
Credits
Advertiser: Air Canada
Clients: Martine Boulerice, Maya Khoury
Agency: Cossette
Creative: Anne-Claude Chénier, Marc Lessard, Souléman Diallo, Mehdi Sedira, Guillaume St-Hilaire
Strategy: Hugo Fournier
Product: Marie-Claude Lachance, Axelle Nau, Hnia Alaoui
Agency production: Septième
Broadcast production: Alexandrine Perras, Katia Pellerin
Digital and print production: Natalie Desmeules, Marie-France Cypihot, Daniel Cartier
Production house: Colossale
Direction: Sebaztian
Production: Mathieu Leduc, Sise Drummond
Photography : Jérémie Boivin, Antoine Ryan
Post-production: Arketype
Editing: Xavier Lévesque
Colorization: Simon Boisx
Music and sound production: Cult Nation Studios
Executive production: Sean Sable
Music supervision: Alexis Charpentier
Release of rights: Laetitia Lebedeff
Composition: Robert Lord, Worry
Sound design: Francois Belanger, Rene-Pierre Guerin
PR agency: Citoyen
PR: Fanny Laurin, France-Michèle Thomas, Rosalie Lavoie, Francesca Jacob-Thibault, Samuel Cyr
Media agency: Cossette Média
Media planning and activation: Laurence Laperrière, Jean-Sébastien David, Élodie Dubrulle, Anaïs Yahiat, Loick Le Corvec
Taken from: https://www.cossette.com/en/newsworthy/vibes-from-down-south