Wataniya Airways first TV commercial

Back in October my agency pitched for and won the Wataniya Airways account. For those of you who don’t know, Wataniya Airways is the new “premium” Kuwaiti airline. I am highlighting the word premium because many people including me originally thought Wataniya Airways was going to be competing against the likes of Jazeera Airways as an economy no frills airline, it’s not. Wataniya Airways won’t even be using the regular airport instead they will be flying in and out of the new Royal Aviation Terminal, the exclusive terminal used by private jets. Anyway, the TV commercial is finally completed and here it is. I might later add some behind the scenes (making of) pictures but only if I find interesting ones. [YouTube]

update: Added a few behind the scenes photos below, might add more later.


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52 comments, add your own...


  1. yoshe says:

    Just watched it this morning…my girlfriend works for the online marketing dept and sent me the link this morning. You guys did a hella job on the TVC…blows everything else out of the water!

  2. chika says:

    that’s fancy man! Well, if their management believes in advertising and pay money, akeed it will be great – add to that your agency ;)

  3. Rye says:

    Where did you guys shoot the desert scenes?

  4. Mark says:

    At a national reserve around 3 hours outside Cairo in the middle of no where. A really really beautiful place.

  5. Basit says:

    oh so thats why you went to egypt

  6. Lexicon says:

    cairo international stadium right?

  7. Mark says:

    Yeah thats why I was there for 10 days. Originally I wanted to shoot everything in Kuwait but due to the very very small amount of time we had to produce this (less than 4 weeks) there was no way that was going to be possible.

  8. zaydoun says:

    When your agency pitched for the account, you should’ve taken the opportunity to tell your client that Wataniya is an over-used, meaningless dumbass name for an airline!!

    But kudos on the TVC, I like it a lot

  9. Ahmed says:

    Who did their logo?

  10. Mark says:

    zaydoun: lol i think you just told them

  11. Mark says:

    Their logo was done by an international branding agency but I don’t know if I can share the name. They’ve created some really good stuff for Wataniya Airways, I like them a lot.

  12. Rayboy says:

    huh? ………..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

  13. Rayboy says:

    somehow i have a f eeling i have seen this concept somewhere about a cotton flower flying around different locations and finally reaching the hands of a boy…

  14. Ahmed says:

    Why would anyone fly Wataniya. I am still unconvinced, but do wish them the best of success : ). It seems that only first class tickets get on demand tele ( i hope iam wrong ). I would rather fly emirates. 1- On demand tele for EVERYONE 2. booze on board ( very helpful when returning to kuwait ) 3. Access to Terminal 3, which is pretty good, and hassle free. 4. Online checkin, I get to choose my seat ( not sure if wataniya has this yet )

    Taking off from the new terminal in kuwait might feel a little empty and boring. Is parking available for the weekend break travelers who leave their car in the airport, driving straight from work? I havent been there but i would it expect it to be if its only you and the rest of the pax in the airport. KIA isnt great either, but alteast you see peeps.

    I will give them a chance though just to check them out. Their 90KD eco ticket is in line with Emirates, cheaper than JAZ.

    Sorry folks, didnt mean to complain

  15. salah says:

    Beautiful work; I love it. Congrats Mark.

  16. salah says:

    Just did a quick research on the airlines; Seriously Mark, great job in pitching and winning the account!

  17. esalam says:

    Great Ad Mark, but where are you in the ad?
    Im still gonna fly on Aljazeera 40-60 kd is bargain.

  18. Frankom says:

    Just because they are using the royal aviation they are now categorized as Premium !! well still they are competing with Al Jazeera Airways at least they have the same destinations. second, 122 seats as they mentioned come on guys hehe something wrong here !

    I had a business trip for one day to Qatar and i saw some U.S base army next to that Terminal and as i heard that if they want to block it for a while then they can do it.

    lets wait and see

  19. Purgatory says:

    So basically you only have one passenger per plane.

  20. veryberri says:

    No need for them to compete against Jazeera…Boodai owns and is leasing to them the jets they’ll be flying…

  21. Ansam says:

    Frankom! There is a BIG difference. The fleet, interior, terminal, services provided

    Read the About Wataniya… its not the same category!

  22. moayad says:

    Is it from the same people of Wataniya Telecom?

    For some reason I got that impression from the slogan كم من الإنجازات رأت سماؤنا

  23. mustafa says:

    was it your agency mark that came up with the adds put around kuwait about famous times in kuwaits history?

  24. Daddyz Girl says:

    Moayad : Totally separate !! It has nothing to do with Wataniya Telecom
    Mark : Excellent job

  25. Half.Dead says:

    Hey
    where was the third picture taken?

  26. Mark says:

    Rayboy: the paper plane flying from scene to scene isn’t the concept, thats just an transitional element we used and added later (it was actually something else originally). The concept here is the proud Kuwaiti achievements of the past and introducing this new airline as a new achievement.

    esalam: no, although i did consider doing a kameo lol

    Frankom: No, they are not counted premium just because they have their own private terminal, its one of the many things they are offering that makes them premium

    Purgatory: yes, one person per flight

    veryberri: are you sure about that?

    mustafa: yes, that was part of the campaign

    I think I am starting to sound like a Wataniya Airways salesman, anyone want to buy tickets??

  27. Mark says:

    Half.Dead: same place, the national reserve

  28. Kuwait-Moda says:

    Great job Mark, but did you shoot only this ad? or there’s more ? i like this one :)

  29. M says:

    I really like this ad. but i think there was a mistake at the end: The woman was offering coffee and holding a tray. If she is serving coffee she should be holding the small cups to put the coffee in and not holding a tray.
    Other than that, i’m really looking forward to travelling in this airline.

  30. zaina says:

    the photography is beautiful
    I like everything except the goal part
    beautiful music coordination with everything

  31. That’s amazing Mark you have such a treasure of talents … Good Job and Keep Up the Good Work Buddy :)

    p.s. i don’t know why but when i saw the purple plane, it reminds me of a movie for snoop Dogg called “Soul Plane” :P

    http://www.soulplane.com

  32. Frankom says:

    Ansam & Mark i know what you are talking about :)
    of course that sounds like it is like a 5 star company but as i said before let us wait and see.

  33. mhl says:

    why is only 1 person per flight?

  34. Mark says:

    lol it was a joke

  35. Mr.pedro says:

    Good Luck inshallah

  36. TweeZ says:

    I wonder how much the flights cost!

  37. Banana.Republic.Airways says:

    You and your agency went to egypt to shoot a desert scenes ? :I

    Like theres no desert in Kuwait ? :I

  38. Mark says:

    Well its not about the desert, that’s not why we or other agencies in Kuwait shoot abroad. To shoot a proper commercial in Kuwait would mean bringing in a lot of people from outside and also equipment and gear. Then stuff like the CGI and film processing would have to be done outside. We had less than 4 weeks to produce this commercial and it would have been impossible to execute it here. Time wasn’t on our side this time around.

  39. A&B says:

    ***REMOVED BY ADMIN***

  40. me7sin says:

    Ok I thought the above statement was a bit too much

    but the idea was fantastic in my opinion, the execution however…

    I dunno why but every-time I see Kuwaiti ads they always feel "dry" or bland…as of they’re too stiff

    and they always feel like they’re made by the same ppl

    not to say that this wasn’t a great effort mark, just an opinion

  41. B says:

    Good job mark! Amazing ad

  42. Labeeb says:

    Who owns Wataniya Airllines??

  43. sager says:

    when will they open for public use?

  44. Mohi says:

    Pretty, but like all arab ads for major corporations (emirate, zain) they all look the same to me. Nothing original

  45. Areej says:

    Well Done Mark. Very creative and artistic….the music is simply beautiful and nostalgic…takes me back to the Golden Days…

  46. MH says:

    There are some mistakes in the AD,, when you show an office and some buildings,, it does not look like Kuwait at allll ,,, it looks like Dubai tome,, How did u do such a mistake !!!

  47. Mark says:

    Are you sure about that? Check the screen shot here, those buildings are in Kuwait.

    http://www.248am.com/images/backgroundbuildings.jpg

  48. MH says:

    Hi Mark

    Check the add at 31 sec,, every body thought that this is Dubai :-) ,, but LOVED the idea

  49. Mark says:

    That scene was shot in sharq

  50. Daliya says:

    I think M was right!(comment number 30)
    There is a MISTAKE in this add.
    The stewardess cannot hold two things at the same time!
    its either the coffee thing or the tray! not BOTH!!

    because kuwaitis serve coffee while holding the small cups(fanayeel) and the coffee thing(dal’la) then they hold a tray with dates!
    since a person cannt hold all three things at the same time:
    they give you coffee then the dates!

  51. sara says:

    much better than the viva stuff .. :s


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