Air travel is stressful enough as it is without having to worry about Wi-Fi connectivity. American Airlines’ “Wi-Fi Withdrawal,” a comedic video that shows how devastating connection withdrawal can be, is depicted through the eyes of four very unique, but very relatable characters – Social Media Addict, The Dad, Workaholic and Bored Guy. Each personality’s reaction to the lack of Wi-Fi inflight is as devastatingly relatable as it is hilarious. American Airlines set out to shed light on a common issue across the entire airline industry in a comedic way, while also noting the high speed of its own Wi-Fi capabilities.

This video was created to raise awareness of the fact that American Airlines has more planes with high-speed Wi-Fi than any airline in the world. To do this, the video follows four characters and their reaction and coping mechanism to the reality of being cut-off from Wi-Fi inflight. This is further perpetuated by the elevator-style music, placing the viewer in a similar state of boredom as the flyers where time seems to stand still. The transitions between characters create a dynamic camaraderie among the guests inflight, while also building to a crescendo in each storyline – all ending in pandemonium. The team took a lot of time in determining each individual character to ensure that all viewers would be able to relate to at least one. In casting, we specifically looked for actors who would not only bring the character to life but also instill a sense of personality and

This was largely an opportunity for the brand to create a groundswell of conversation across social channels and use humor as a new tool and critical part of the strategy to connect with consumers, encouraging them to think of the brand differently. To bring this story to life, we set out to find the perfect comedic duo – our directing, producing and writing partners Ryan Hunter and Jack Ferry. The Los Angeles-based filmmaking collaborating are known for creating, directing, and executive producing four seasons of the hit comedy series “Mr. Student Body President,” which won multiple Streamy Awards, including Best Directors for Jack and Ryan. Ryan also created the YouTube channel POYKPAC, which has amassed several viral hits and more than 87 million views and has co-written and illustrated four humor books for Penguin. Jack recently directed and executive produced the upcoming dark-comedy action series, “Millennial Mafia,” for Entertainment One.

Once the idea was determined, the team worked closely with the screenwriters and production company through multiple rounds of scripting and storyboarding to ensure that each character’s personality was brought to life, jokes were true to who they were personifying and each set was specific to the character’s scenario. The team filmed on November 20, and edited, color and auto corrected the film into multiple social cuts for each character, as well as the full-length video in the following weeks. The content went live across American Airlines’ channels on January 30.

We also implemented a paid media and distribution strategy, using TrueView on YouTube to ensure the full-length film is discoverable to our audience. We ran 15 second cuts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and for each placement, included a clear CTA that led to the full-length video. We also worked with Jukin, running the social cuts on their channels.

To date, the Wi-Fi Withdrawal video has received over 2.2 million views on YouTube, with 162 comments, the vast majority of which are positive sentiment, a true win for American Airlines. Across traditional earned channels, the video garnered more than 10 million unique impressions. Across social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, consumers have been engaging with the brand and have been pleasantly surprised to see something different from an airline company. Comments on social have included: “This advert was so good I watched the whole 3 minutes and 37 seconds without skipping!” and “Probably the best airlines commercial ever and one of the best commercials for a long time! I was laughing so hard by the end!” and “This is one of those ads I wouldn’t skip.”