Carnival Corporation has been making a huge push into media productions lately with its now four original television shows featuring its international cruise brands, and now Cunard Line has released its first commercial to coincide with the previous Super Bowl week and placements into the future. In fact, it also ran during Carnival's "Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin" program on ABC.
"On behalf of Cunard North America, we are proud to release our first-ever commercial that will debut this Saturday during Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin," said Josh Leibowitz, senior vice president, Cunard North America, in a press release. "The ad showcases the grandeur and sense of occasion that Cunard provides while glimpsing into the more intimate moments experienced onboard our ships."
[READMORE]READ MORE: TravelPulse On Board: Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 Review[/READMORE]
The commercial, embedded for viewing below, is a short 30-second spot that conveys the lifestyle aboard the premium cruise line, particularly its flagship Queen Mary 2 ocean liner, as part of its "Everything you wanted, nothing you expected" marketing campaign for 2017. With such a short window, every visual and sound byte counts, and the cinematography perfectly captures the onboard experience of the newly remodeled QM2 as my wife and I recently had the opportunity to enjoy crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Southampton to New York in classic style.
The opening shot of the ocean liner departing to return with the New York skyline behind at sunset is itself a brilliant image that calls back to the vintage nature of the experience while footage of guests partaking in active movements on deck appeals to modern health sensibilities as well. Meanwhile, country club casual by day and formal wear by night showcases what is expected from a dress code standpoint before an awesome transition into the dining room reveals its majesty as waiters effectively open a curtain to the dramatic Britannia Restaurant. You can tell this was a well-storyboarded advertisement.
It's also wonderful to see the new Carinthia Lounge making a showing as well as Cunard's signature ballroom dancing and entertainment before a final shot of the stern bookends the commercial following the opening bow shot. From a musical standpoint, the piano and vocalist jazz song is presumably an original piece since Shazam doesn't recognize it. The number fits the jazzy lifestyle of Cunard well but might not be the catchiest tune I've ever heard either. Perhaps a big band piece from the likes of Glenn Miller or Benny Goodman would have been a better fit.
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Otherwise, the commercial resonates well even if it surprisingly excludes any shots from onboard the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, which are only mentioned with their logotypes on the ending slide. In effect, the commercial is more for the Queen Mary 2 than the brand as a whole, but surely that is the ship that makes Cunard the most unique to this day.
Corporate cousin Holland America Line has also released a couple of commercials over the last year of so, and its second attempt was a large improvement over the first, so take two for Cunard will likely score the same. As the two remaining brands with the greatest histories, I'd really like to see Cunard pay a bit more homage to the past like Holland America has to feature and explain its impressive heritage, making it more recognizable and relevant to modern cruise travelers.
In the meantime, Cunard Line will additionally be featured on two of Carnival's television programs through July 2017: "Ocean Treks" and "Vacation Creation."
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