Staycation: the word that strikes fear into every travel-starved consumer's mind. For many across the globe the promise of Summer 2020’s travel will never be realised. New national past-times such as the government's daily coronavirus briefing or tabloids judging consumers for visiting the shops, while simultaneously berating them for crucifying the high-street by working from home, don’t quite deliver the same level of escape as two weeks in the sunshine. In fact, at this point many consumers would take a two-hour child-free visit to a French supermarket as a sufficient proxy for a holiday. Anything, except of course, the dreaded Staycation.

Enter Audible.co.uk which has transformed this yearning for escape into a pitch-perfect campaign, developed by Fold 7, which takes the brand promise of escape to the next level. 

Directed by Mark Denton the TV spot, which has a 1970’s vibe, takes consumers through a snapshot of places that the brand can transport the listener too. From city breaks to Gilead, to warmer weather on the surface of Mars, the spot delivers much-needed light relief to experience-starved travellers. When everyday life in the midst of coronavirus can often feel like an episode of Black Mirror, it's a black humour many consumers will relate to. The campaign will run on TV and radio from this week. 

A welcome sigh of relief at a creative campaign that is mercifully not another coronavirus ad, without a video call or brand ‘thoughts and prayers’ in sight. Ryan Newey, Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Fold 7, said, “We need a creative shift in mood and with summer plans shelved it's a good time to spread a little joy.”

Joy, which lets face it we can all do with right now. While we may not be able to physically travel to far flung destinations, we can still find the time, between back-to-back video calls of course, to have a little fun.

When that fun lands so perfectly on a brand’s purpose, it's a match made in marketing heaven. As Matthew Parker, Director of Brand Marketing, at Audible UK, explains: “Audible has always offered the chance to escape into other worlds. Now, more than ever, people are craving new and different experiences, and Audible can give you that opportunity to get away, even when you can’t.”