Delta tasked us with finding a way to inspire flyers to get back on board––small business flyers in particular, who had largely stopped traveling during the pandemic. It’s Delta’s and our shared belief that even (or perhaps especially) in a world where video calls and remote work are common, showing up in person communicates true commitment, respect, and perseverance. So our goal was to create a beautiful, epic, and interesting story that honored the work small business travelers do every day by traveling the world to keep their companies growing. We wanted to connect with their ambitious, optimistic, indomitable spirit.

“Odyssey” is the story of a young woman embarking on a global journey to launch her small shoe business, told through allusions to one of the most famous journeys of all time: Homer’s Odyssey. Like many small business owners, she encounters obstacles along the way, such as an alluring, tropical-themed hotel lobby that beckons like the lotus-eaters, an intimidating boardroom of six investors seated before a sculpture of the six-headed Scylla, and a cobbler whose large eye behind a magnifying glass recalls the Cyclops. Our hero perseveres through each roadblock, much like Odysseus did, before meeting a kindly, blind farmer––her own Tiresias––who helps her complete her small business mission by supplying wool for her shoes. On the way home, she settles into her Delta seat and flips to the next chapter in Odyssey.

Creative broke through with memorable executions, as shown by lifts in Online Ad Awareness (+6.5 percentage points (pp)) and Message Association (+3pp)

Additionally, overall impact was seen in Brand Familiarity (+1.6pp), Favorability (+3.2pp), and Consideration (+2pp)

Campaign delivered statistically significant lifts in every single brand attribute measured.

Campaign KPIs: Brand Love +3.5pp and Brand Trust +3.3pp

All other attributes: Social Responsibility (+5.5pp), Shares my values (+2.9pp), Adapts to the needs of global travelers (+3.4pp), Recognizes & shares diverse communities (3.4pp), Makes travel less stressful (+3pp), Cares about the health & safety of their passengers (+3.7pp)

While shorter video lengths found the greatest lifts in Unaided Awareness (+11.2pp), the longest video, :60, did increase Unaided Awareness as well (+5.2pp, directionally)