Kevin Spacey for American Airlines "The Individual " Ad Campaign

Kevin Spacey is brilliant in the new ad campaign for American Airlines created by the ad agency McCann, London, enjoy a sneak peek of the spot set to air in a couple of days.

Official Press Release:
Kevin Spacey, the Academy Award-winning actor, takes on three new roles as part of a campaign to promote American Airline’s unique brand philosophy of understanding the individual flyer.

The 60-second ad ‘The Individual’ breaks on UK television on 12th November.
Kevin Spacey appears as a slick designer type, a creative screen writer and a Malibu family guy and finally as himself in the series of ads.
Director Chris Palmer of Gorgeous who’s previous work included the Skoda ‘Baking Of....’ and the Budweiser ‘Lyrics’ ad, worked closely with Kevin Spacey in developing and bringing to life the three characters who reflect the broad American Airlines premium flyer demographic.
American Airlines is tapping into the rich values associated with ‘Modern America’; egalitarianism, primacy of the individual and the impeccable but informal approach to customer service.
All the characters are united at the end of the film in their appreciation of American Airlines understanding ‘what makes me, me, whoever I happen to be.
Two additional 20 second ads bring the proposition to life. ‘Multiple Meals’ shows the three characters having distinctive dining habits, all of which are accommodated by American Airline’s ‘Dine Upon Request’ service. In ‘Multiple Boarding’, the characters are shown checking in their various ways, from a traditional boarding pass to a smartphone option.
The campaign is backed by out-of-home advertising and digital activity which has also been created by McCann, and ties in with American Airline’s evolved ‘discerning flyers’ strategy, developed to widen American’s appeal, to be more inclusive of a wider audience for First and Business.
The first screening of the Advertisement on TV will break on UK television on 12th November at 6.05 pm on ITV1 during the International Football match between England and Spain.

Maria Sebastian, Vice President, Sales and Marketing EMEA at American Airlines comments:
We believe that this new campaign is an exciting development for American Airlines as we have Kevin Spacey creating a number of unique characters purely for our campaign. It’s interesting and engaging – but crucially, it also conveys our service ethos, treating discerning customers as individuals.”

Geoff Smith and Simon Butler, Co-Creative Directors at McCann London, said of working with Spacey: “The casting of Kevin Spacey for the trio of roles was crucial to the emotional appeal of this ad, and his performance really lifts it to a higher level. He manages to combine an everyman quality with an indefinable touch of class, which sits seamlessly with the ‘discerning flyers’ message that the ad conveys.”

Chris Palmer says: “Kevin Spacey really nailed the characters, as you'd expect. I can't imagine any other living actor who could have transformed into such diverse and believable characters. It was weird shooting with him as a totally different character each day. The crew didn't recognise him when he came on set, even on the third day. You completely forgot it was Kevin Spacey in there. In fact, it was a bit of shock to see him as himself on day four.”

Credits:
Project: The Individual
Client: Stephen Davis Head of Marketing EMEA American Airlines
Agency: McCann London
Brief: American Airlines is the airline that treats you like an individual
Copywriter: Geoff Smith
Art Director: Simon Butler
Creative Directors: Geoff Smith & Simon Butler
Worldwide Chief Creative Officer/TM: Bill Oakley
Director: Chris Palmer
Production Company: Gorgeous
Producer: Michaela Johnson
Agency Producer: Paula Mackersey