Skip to main content

Ad agency explains how it created British Airways’ clever digital billboard ad

At the tail end of last year British Airways launched a London-based ad campaign that had a child on a giant digital billboard interacting with events in the real world, in this case planes flying overhead on their way into and out of Heathrow airport.

The ad, which cleverly combined a kid’s fascination with flying objects with many an adult’s desire to jump on a jet plane heading to an exotic location, was widely praised for its originality, though at the time its creator, ad agency Ogilvy & Mather London, gave little away as to how it was made, saying simply it’d involved a bit of “digital wizardry” using custom-built surveillance technology.

Recommended Videos

Over the weekend, however, agency director Jon Andrews threw a little more light on the process, explaining how the idea for the campaign was inspired by his two young children, who, when playing in the yard, would stop whatever they were doing when a plane flew overhead, pointing up at it in “wonder and amazement.”

“To them, planes were magical,” Andrews told Co.Create‘s Rae Ann Fera, adding that the campaign’s aim was to “take people back to that magical moment when they first flew,” with the digital billboard “targeting a very specific, special moment a BA plane flew overhead, capturing people’s imaginations and inspiring them to make a booking.”

Street View search

The team first used Street View to seek out ideal locations for the billboard, which had to be perfectly situated in relation to the flight path and have the right viewing angles, too.

After months of research, two locations were chosen: one bang in the center of London at Piccadilly Circus, and the other in Chiswick, close to Heathrow airport.

“I prototyped the idea on my phone, so when I was out and about at each location, I could hold it up to the sky and pretend to be the billboard,” Andrews told Co.Create. “Further down the line, we also created a mobile app to position our ‘trigger zone’ perfectly in the sky. This allowed us to perfectly time each billboards’ reaction to each plane and make sure the ad tracked it perfectly across the sky.”

Aircraft info

He goes on to say how his team used an ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast) antenna to read planes’ transponder data within 125 miles, which provided information on their location, speed, altitude and call-sign.

“We created a virtual ‘tripwire’ in the sky, triggering our billboards to display our ads every time a British Airways plane flew overhead,” Andrews said, adding that that it was important to know the exact position of the aircraft, “because if our ad triggered even a fraction of a second early or too late, the children would be pointing at a clear sky instead of a plane – massive fail!”

When a plane passed overhead, the aircraft’s flight number and point of origin showed up on the billboard, at the same time revealing pricing information for its country of departure.

Cloud sensors

A neat touch was the incorporation of cloud-height sensors in the billboards, so if they detected that it was too cloudy to see the planes, the system would pause until more suitable weather prevailed.

According to Andrews, British Airways’ campaign ended up becoming the most talked about piece of airline advertising in 2013. It’s certainly a great example of how an off-beat idea can take a campaign to another level, with the high-tech billboards going viral as people around the world scratched their head and asked, “So, how did they do that?”

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Sebastian Stan lays out Bucky’s future after Thunderbolts
Sebastian Stan in Thunderbolts.

There are some spoilers ahead for the ending of Marvel's Thunderbolts. Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled.

Earlier this year, Captain America: Brave New World briefly introduced a new direction for James "Bucky" Barnes, a character Sebastian Stan has been playing since 2011 in Captain America: The First Avenger. In Brave New World, the former Winter Soldier apparently retired from being a reformed hero and went into politics by running for Congress. Thunderbolts reveals that Bucky won his election to the House of Representatives. But his stay in Congress was short.

Read more
Jeep Compass EV breaks cover—but will it come to the U.S.?
jeep compass ev us newjeepcompassfirsteditionhawaii  4

Jeep just pulled the wraps off the all-new Compass EV, and while it’s an exciting leap into the electric future, there's a catch—it might not make it to the U.S. anytime soon.
This is a brand new electric version of the Jeep Compass, and being built on Stellantis' STLA platform—the same architecture underpinning models like the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008—it looks much slicker and packs a lot more inside than previous versions of the Compass.
Let’s start with what’s cool: the new Compass EV is packing up to 404 miles of range on a single charge, a 74 kWh battery, and fast-charging that gets you from 20% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Not bad for a compact SUV with Jeep's badge on the nose.
There are two versions: a front-wheel-drive model with 213 horsepower and a beefier all-wheel-drive version with 375 horsepower. That AWD setup isn’t just for looks—it can handle 20% inclines even without front traction, and comes with extra ground clearance and better off-road angles. In short, it’s still a Jeep.
The design's been refreshed too, and inside you’ll find the kind of tech and comfort you’d expect in a modern EV—sleek, smart, and ready for both city streets and dirt trails.
But here’s the thing: even though production starts soon in Italy, Jeep hasn’t said whether the Compass EV is coming to America. And the signs aren’t promising.
Plans to build it in Canada were recently put on hold, with production now delayed until at least early 2026. Some of that might have to do with possible U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican vehicles—adding a layer of uncertainty to the whole rollout.
According to Kelley Blue Book, a Stellantis spokesperson confirmed that the company has “temporarily paused work on the next-generation Jeep Compass, including activities at” the Canadian plant that was originally meant to build the model. They added that Stellantis is “reassessing its product strategy in North America” to better match customer needs and demand for different powertrain options.
So while Europe and other markets are gearing up to get the Compass EV soon, American drivers might be left waiting—or miss out entirely.
That’s a shame, because on paper, this electric Jeep hits a lot of sweet spots. Let’s just hope it finds a way over here.

Read more
Charlie Cox singles out his least favorite Daredevil: Born Again episode
Charlie Cox in Daredevil: Born Again.

Daredevil: Born Again season 1 was largely reconceived after the 2023 actor and writer strikes. Dario Scardapane -- a veteran of The Punisher series on Netflix -- was brought in to be the new showrunner and he made a lot of changes to the series that were well-received. However, there's one episode that Scardapane didn't really change at all, and it happens to be the least favorite episode of Daredevil: Born Again's leading man, Charlie Cox.

During an appearance on The Playlist, Cox noted that he wasn't very fond of the season's fifth episode, "With Interest," which was a largely standalone episode that featured his character, Matt Murdock, in a bank during a hostage crisis.

Read more