As our awareness of the climate crisis has increased, so too has the desire to take more conscious decisions when it comes to travel risen up the consumer agenda. The climate crisis has already had a significant effect on attitudes to travel; 72% of travellers surveyed by Booking.com in 2019 believe that consumers need to make more sustainable travel choices to protect the planet.

These choices are extending to increasing numbers of travellers choosing to use a train rather than a plane, as the ‘greener’ way to travel. A shift driven by the fact that the average journey from London to Amsterdam on the Eurostar emits 80% less carbon than the equivalent short haul flight, according to Eurostar figures.

Eurostar’s latest campaign from ENGINE celebrates train travel, reminding their consumers that ‘You see more when you don’t fly’. The European campaign has been designed to show the benefits of a Eurostar trip delivering you straight to the heart of European cities, to give you time to explore the places that really matter.

The ads stars Ostrich, the brand icon introduced in print campaigns towards the end of 2019, but brought to life for 2020 as the Ostrich goes exploring around Europe. We see the Ostrich taking some time out at a flea market in Paris as well as visiting a punk exhibition in London.

The focus of the ads aren’t so much on the place the Ostrich is but rather on the length of time it can spend enjoying the place itself. By taking the Eurostar straight to the centre of the city, Ostrich has saved precious hours that it can then use to stare longingly into the eyes of an old portrait painting or to imagine itself as a punk rock star.

This is a brand successfully embracing the shift towards a slower way of living, whether that’s fashion, food or travel. Eurostar is inviting its customers to fully engage with an experience and to be more sustainable in the process. With time the most precious of consumer commodities and so many travellers desperate to explore but to also protect the planet, Eurostar is operating in a sweet spot. Train travel, the brand believes, might have been the past’s choice of transport, but it should also be the future’s too.