Advertising in this sector can look very similar - mainly because cruiseships look very much the same. The aim of this campaign was to break the conventions of the market, both by banning photographic images of ships and avoiding the familiar ‘poetic’ style of copywriting.The concept is based on a system of communicating at sea via flags, called semaphore. These flag positions spell out the headlines, while a short line of body copy builds upon that headline. By creating this distinctive tone of voice and avoiding traditional imagery, this advertising sets DFDS Seaways apart from its competitors immediately.

This campaign ran from end March to the second week of April, 2005. We won’t be able to measure the results until June, when the next tracking survey is completed. However, there’s been a lot of positive early feedback from people who have seen the posters. This has already given the profile of the route a boost and suggests we should be optimistic about future response levels.