In case you missed the flapping kerfuffle we reported late last week, Emirates launched a new campaign called “The Goose Flies Better” through the anthropomorphic form of a Canadian Goose called Gerry. The only problem was that the campaign looked a lot like Air New Zealand’s “Dave the Goose” ads from 2016. So what happened next?
To quickly bring you up to flight speed, the new Emirates global campaign follows Gerry the (Canadian) Goose as he ruffles feathers by, according to the airline, “Deciding to Fly Better aboard an Emirates Premium Economy cabin, while his migrating bird-brethren are in ‘fowl humour’ after a long and tiring flight by wing.”
However, the ‘fowl humour’ unwittingly went one beak further by looking all too alike to Air New Zealand’s legendary Dave the Goose’ award-winning Better Way to Fly campaign that first took flight back in 2016.
Have a gander and see what you think…
Air New Zealand (2016): “Better way to fly (Dave)”
Emirates (2022): “The Goose Flies Better”
See the resemblance here?
Not surprisingly, Air New Zealand’s feathers were indeed ruffled with the airline’s gaggle of marketeers calling Dave the Goose out of retirement to send a message to his bird brain old mate, Gerry.
The response was an amusing 30-second video that ran across the airline’s Facebook, and Twitter feeds from Saturday with the caption, “Gerry ya goose, you got the wrong airline!” and tagging Emirates.
“What are you doing on Emirates Gerry? It was supposed to be Air New Zealand,” says Dave in the video.
The 30-second video then goes on to cleverly highlight the Air New Zealand difference, ending with a cheeky sign-off that says, “A better way for geese to fly since 2016.”
The Twitter and Facebook videos have notched up 60,000 views since going live on Saturday, and no doubt generated more brand love for the renowned creative department at Air New Zealand.
So what did Emirates do in response?
Rather than acknowledging the roasting, Emirates Canadian fowl Gerry then reacted by posting a video and tweet of his own on Sunday, saying, “Don’t wing it, Dave! You definitely want to fly with Emirates for the long haul. And Dubai is a sweet spot for migratory stops. See you here!!” Tagging in Air New Zealand.
Which to be fair does seem to be a rather Trump like “Fake news” response from Gerry.
So where to next for Gerry and Dave? Can they resolve their differences and come together as birds of a feather? Because Geese are supposed to be mates for life, right?
Or is this the start of two angry birds competing for supremacy in the skies?
Whatever, we await with a popcorn bucket in hand.
