Despite its name, British Airways is more than just a U.K.-based airline. It connects many people living in countries that may not have a homegrown carrier offering long-distance flights, to destinations across the globe. It its latest campaign, “The Welcome of Home,” BA is highlighting the millions of Indians who live in North America – far from their extended families in India. The airline created a short four-minute film that documents a Canadian woman and her family’s return to India to see her grandmother, and shows the emotional experiences expatriates go through. (It’s a beautiful video, and don’t be surprised if you choke up a bit.)
While the subject of the film is Indian, “Welcome of Home,” which follows the airline’s “Visit Mum” campaign last year, also touches on the more than 40 million foreign-born Americans and Canadians, who now make up a significant portion of the population of both countries. As part of the campaign to bring attention to BA’s reputation as a global airline, the company has launched a contest on Twitter that will send a winner, plus a guest, a trip to wherever “home” may be. You simply have to tweet a photo to British Airways that reminds you of home and where that home is (say, the Taj Mahal, Great Wall, Eiffel Tower, etc.), and use #WelcomeOfHome in your Tweet. The contest ends at 11:59 p.m. (PST) on November 25.
Of course, there’s a catch. It’s open to only legal residents of the U.S. and Canada, who are 18 years or older, and “whose home country is outside the U.S. and Canada” with service by BA via its London hub. So, if your home country is Bangladesh, you’re out of luck since BA doesn’t fly to Dhaka.
British Airways, like many airlines, is increasingly using social media for promotional purposes. On November 17, the carrier launched another online campaign (in partnership with VisitBritain, the U.K.’s national tourism agency) that highlights “unexpected” attractions in England, Scotland, and Wales, via a series of short videos like the one below.
