Charting Success

In the world of aviation, one name stands out from the rest: Singapore Airlines, for the luxury, comfort, and hospitality they provide. The brand has demonstrated their commitment to upholding the level of service by putting the iconic Singapore Girl at the forefront of their commercials, who has since become the embodiment of elegance and grace.

Since travel returned in full swing, Singapore Airlines has posted its highest-ever net profit and has also received the World’s Best Airline award (2023). How do their marketing campaigns and ads contribute to their continued success? We used Sphere’s Ad Benchmarking app to find out.

In the past year, the brand has released three ads that have received millions of views online: Look forward to flying again with Singapore Airlines, Welcome to World Class, and Travel Bigger with Singapore Airlines.

We found that these ads scored high on both industry fit and creativity. Relativity is also high at 89% as compared to commercials from other airlines that have an average score of 26%. Strong and relatable content is definitely crucial in campaign success, since viewers tend to remember and respond favorably to ads that resonate well with them.

Our take? Their higher relatability score might be related to the different brand vibe they’ve taken on in recent years. It seems that they’ve moved away from making the Singapore Girl the centerpiece of their ads, since the brand has already become synonymous with impeccable and gracious service.

Instead, they’ve let passenger experience take center stage. By blurring the lines between aviation and artistry, their ads are more cinematic and creative than most so viewers don’t feel like they’re watching a typical commercial. The peaks in the Relativity Distribution chart are frames that feature passengers having fun or unique experiences while traveling, and we can see how relativity tends to increase when smiling faces are pictured — these are the scenes that audiences of airline ads tend to remember and respond well to.

The AI also detected that other industry ads generally depict the Everyperson, where they demonstrate that anyone can travel with their flights — whereas the ads from Singapore Airlines largely displayed the Explorer archetype. This ignites a feeling of wanderlust by focusing on the anticipation of freedom and the excitement of exploration, which is absolutely perfect for the post-COVID revenge travel phase.

The ads scored higher on authenticity, bravery, and innovation, which also signals to viewers that the airline is genuinely committed to finding new ways to improve their flight experience.

Overall, our AI indicated that these commercials were creative, relatable, and differentiated from other ads in the industry — a potent combination to drive consumers to choose to travel with Singapore Airlines.