The Campaign

Be Free Owen is a series of short films where Owen Wilson awakes to find himself in an other-worldly and surprisingly luxurious place. We challenged cruise perceptions by proving P&O is a world-class holiday, using the quality and luxury of the refurbished ships to impress one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Episode 1 “The Awakening,” a confused Owen Wilson awakens in the mysterious Blue Room, where a beautiful woman explains to him that he is not on Earth. Episode 2 “Losing It”, Owen finds himself in a wetsuit, floating in a swimming pool in the company of another woman. His surroundings and its inhabitants amaze him. Episode 3 “The Secret”, Owen wakes up in the Dragon Lady restaurant, before relaxing in a Cabana and discovers the secret of its inhabitants, “The Cruiselings”. At the end of the film, he’s surprised to learn that he is, in fact, on a cruise ship.

Creative Execution

Teaser content We suspected we’d get some attention, so we started with a series of teaser videos posted on YouTube and social media. Online films Be Free Owen centered around a series of three short films starring Owen Wilson, titled The Conspicuous Awakening of Owen Wilson. The three films were then launched on a campaign website, and released over the course of two days, timed to maximise media coverage. Virtual tours The website also featured virtual tours of the new ships, Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden, and profiled the key experiences that had captivated Owen. Digital display Viewers were then re-targeted with digital advertising which promoted key environments and experiences on board the new ships. Trade marketing We gave the travel industry a different experience - special advanced VIP screenings of the films, along with personalised popcorn boxes as the invitation.

The results were as Owen would say… phenomenal! · In the first 2 weeks alone our films generated over 5.4 million views; · With incredible engagement across Facebook and YouTube (3532 shares); · In all, we reached 7,615,601 Australians and New Zealanders; · And we received nearly $6 million worth of earned media coverage, Most importantly, purchase intent increased by 16% amongst the crucial 25-39 year-old non-cruisers. And we cemented the message that P&O offers an experience Like No Place On Earth.

X

Allow people to experience the new ships through the eyes of an aspirational “Earthling”. 1. Positioning P&O as an aspirational holiday For 25-39 year-old, a cruise couldn’t be further from their ideal holiday. If they could see one of Hollywood’s hottest stars enjoying the new ships, then they’d open up to the possibility. 2.Featuring the new environments of the new ships Despite not having access to the actual new ships, we recreated the ships environments and allowed viewers to explore them in a virtual tour. 3.Getting Australia talking about the new ships We gave select media outlets exclusive rights to distribute the films for the first few hours they were released. They promoted the films through their channels, TV shows, radio, digital or social media. The choice of Owen Wilson as the leading man was crucial, perfectly capturing all the Hansel-hype in the lead-up to the release of Zoolander 2.