The campaign, entitled A British Original, plays on the ‘what is the purpose of your visit?’ question travellers face on landing, delving into the stories that lie behind such a deceptively simple statement.

The ads themselves are extremely minimal in design, making the copywriting the star of the show. Uncommon has written 500 individual lines for the campaign, which range from the mundane – ‘Because this weather sucks’ – to the moving – ‘I’ve had a ring in my pocket for long enough’.

Many of them celebrate the joyful frivolity of travelling, whether that’s indulging in food and wine, topping up a tan, or taking care of some overwhelming wanderlust.

And despite being extremely economical with the language, Uncommon has managed to hint at the deeper narratives that lie beneath, for example in one execution which simply says ‘Marriage CPR’, or another, reading ‘Identity crisis’.

The ads will appear on buses, billboards and in print, with different executions adapted to locations and mediums. Uncommon says that the campaign’s creative will continue to change and respond to current events, weather and time of day, as it rolls out over the course of the next month. The static executions are accompaned by 32 short films, which follow a similar format.

According to Lucy Jameson, co-founder of Uncommon Creative Studio, it’s part of a move to focus on people instead of planes, in particular “British originality”. The airline is also currently working on a new safety video starring BA staff as well as some famous British faces.

uncommon.london