Beyond Borders

A global brand platform built on Abu Dhabi-born ambition, launched alongside a plan to invest USD 20 billion over ten years and reach more than 150 destinations. The brand film uses five real people chosen from 450 candidates rather than actors, among them the wildlife photographer Suaad Al Suwaidi, the Michelin-starred chef Arivu Ravikkumar, the filmmaker Nosarieme Garrick and the freediver Florian Dagoury, and was shot in Abu Dhabi, Nairobi, New York, Phuket and Paris.

The brief

Travellers worldwide, as Etihad laid out a decade of expansion and wanted its brand to carry the ambition tied to Abu Dhabi.

The idea

Etihad cast five real people picked from 450 candidates, among them a freediver, a wildlife photographer and a Michelin-starred chef, and filmed them in five cities from Nairobi to Phuket.

What to borrow

Casting people with real accomplishments lets a brand talk about ambition through proof that belongs to someone else.

Brand	Etihad Airways
Agency	Not named on the source
Talent	Suaad Al Suwaidi, Arivu Ravikkumar, Nosarieme Garrick, Florian Dagoury
Channels	TV, digital, social, OOH
Source	Zawya