It was June 2022 and Australia's international borders had just opened, leading to an influx of Aussies looking to rush off on an overseas holiday. To add to matters, cruise goers in Australia skew to an older audience. P&O set us the challenge of convincing Aussies under 45 who had never been on a cruise to put off Europe and take a cruise instead. P&O were looking for increased brand awareness and an increase in sales.

Travel sucks. We show the mirror pep talk you give yourself when you’re dealing with delays, cancellations and long-haul journeys, all in the name of a holiday. At first, we show a man looking himself in the mirror, prepping to take a long-haul flight. Then, we cut between the various traumatic scenes of travel–bus delays, plane bathrooms and train stations–as the music becomes more daunting. Then, the mirrors begin to multiply and escalate, mimicking the headspace of the exhausted and traumatised travellers. Finally, we cut to two women aboard a cruise ship, smiling and relaxed. It’s a stark contrast to the agonised travellers who were trying to get to their destination. We then ask the audience, “Why travel when you can cruise?”, because cruises are the destination.

After a TV prime time, cinema and social roll out, Aussies considered cruises instead of other forms of travel, particularly with regards to airplane travel, which was experiencing significant delays and luggage loss issues at the time of launch. With 3,564,373 views on YouTube alone, the campaign broke through the Aussie market and successfully forged cruising as a separate, superior category of travel to consumers.