Here’s an attempt by P&O Ferries from the U.K. to encourage people to take a holiday because they’re having to work so tirelessly during the recession. The TV advertisement, which is part of a full campaign, focuses on a dog groomer accompanied by the line “Because you’ve been working like a dog,” a florist with “Because Britain isn’t blooming” and butcher with “Because you haven’t sold a sausage all year.” All dreadful puns, but we get the message.
The PR for this campaign states that it is trying to put some pride back into Britain. The interesting thing here is the generic promotion of holidays, which many people will be deferring as a luxury. The nudge from P&O is that a holiday is important reward for all that hard work, and it needn’t be too expensive. As the recession pits category against category as much as brand versus brand, this seems like a relevant message, if very difficult to brand.
