Penelope Cruz Is Emirates’ New Brand Ambassador

Penelope Cruz Is Emirates’ New Brand Ambassador

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Emirates has announced its newest brand ambassador, and we’ll soon see her “Cruzing” on Emirates planes…

Emirates launching ad campaign with Penelope Cruz

Emirates has revealed that a new ad campaign and brand collaboration will launch in June 2023, featuring Penelope Cruz. Emirates claims that Cruz is already a fan of the Emirates brand and a frequent flyer who has visited Dubai multiple times, making her a natural fit.

Cruz will star in new TV spots that will air globally, in both English and Spanish. The theme of the ads will be “travel is not just about the end destination, ​it’s also about how you get there.” Here’s how Emirates describes the format of these ads:

“The short ads show Cruz sampling all the exclusive luxuries that Emirates First and Business Class customers experience as they Fly Better, from a crafted beverage in the A380 Onboard Lounge, to an indulgent shower above the clouds, cheering for a football game shown on live TV, to relishing generous helpings of luxury caviar. In other spots, she enjoys the spacious seats in Emirates’ new Premium Economy Class.”

“She interacts with Emirates Cabin Crew in multiple languages and enjoys the wide variety of movies and content on Emirates’ award-winning ice inflight entertainment system, viewed on a huge 32-inch full HD LCD screen – the largest in the aviation industry. Cruz is also filmed using the personal temperature controls in her private First Class Suite, using bespoke binoculars to enjoy the sky-high views, and wearing the Emirates hydra-active moisturising pyjamas to settle in for a siesta in her lie-flat bed, surrounded by an array of luxury amenities – ensuring her journey is spectacular from the beginning.”

Below are a couple of stills from the campaign. These make it look like this will be a more “serious,” aspirational, and fashion-focused campaign, than some of the ones that we’ve seen in the past.

Emirates ad starring Penelope Cruz
Emirates ad starring Penelope Cruz

Emirates has also already published some short clips of the campaign featuring Cruz. Look, I get Cruz is attractive and all, but am I the only one who thinks she’s not exactly oozing with personality in this campaign? It just kind of feels like she’s muttering random phrases, and even these short 10-15 second clips leave me bored.

This follows Emirates’ deal with Jennifer Aniston

This isn’t the first time that Emirates is partnering with a celebrity. Perhaps most famously, back in 2015, Jennifer Aniston was Emirates’ brand ambassador. She was reportedly paid $5 million for her participation in an A380 ad campaign. Funny enough, Aniston is reportedly not a fan of flying, so Emirates actually flew the A380 to LAX, so that the campaign could be filmed closer to her.

Aniston starred in a couple of hilarious ads. In one ad, she was seen having a “nightmare,” where she imagined what it would be like to fly with an airline other than Emirates, where there’s no onboard bar or shower.

In another ad, Aniston is seen returning to her A380 first class suite, only to find a child sitting there.

At the time, the ad campaign was rather controversial, given that US airlines were running a smear campaign against the Gulf carriers. So some US airlines tried to paint Aniston as a traitor for agreeing to participate in this campaign.

At this point, relations between US carriers and Gulf carriers are much better, with American having a close partnership with Qatar Airways, and United having a close partnership with Emirates. How times have changed…

Bottom line

In the coming weeks, we can expect some new ads from Emirates starring Penelope Cruz. These will highlight Emirates’ premium A380 products, including first class, business class, and premium economy, as well as some of the other onboard amenities.

I’m looking forward to seeing these, though personally I’m not necessarily a huge fan of ads that are heavily focused on celebrities. Based on the pictures and clips we’ve seen so far, this ad seems like it might have a different tone than some of Emirates’ past campaigns.

What do you make of Emirates partnering with Penelope Cruz?

Conversations (23)
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  1. Laszlo Guest

    I like her movies. Sadly, in the commercials she is so bad that I actually searched for "Penelope Cruz Emirates comments" to see if it's only me to have that impression.

  2. Wendy Guest

    Emirates A380 is a 1-2-1 configuration. There is no middle seat.

  3. Koggerj Guest

    At least it wasn't a trans identifying male.

  4. JK Guest

    Looking forward to the video of Penelope in the shower!

  5. gstork Guest

    I hope she isn’t speaking in this campaign. Her lisping accented attempt at English is annoying to listen to and nearly impossible to understand. If Emirates is trying to lure English speaking $$$/£££/€€€ they should rethink this lame “ambassador”!

    1. Samo Guest

      I'm pretty sure 95+% of Emirates customers are not native speakers of English ;)

  6. henare Diamond

    I can't imagine being influenced by this.

    1. Antonio Guest

      If thats your real Pic, you are hotter, sexier and even look smarter than her, please influence me...
      Ill suggest EK to proceed with the change, athough your Denver Santa style might not fit everyone....

  7. lopez Guest

    EK not advertising the old uncomfortably 777 middle seats in business class then! which are very common on most of their 777s!

    1. Mangiafiga Guest

      Etihad had Nicole Kidman.

  8. Samo Guest

    Emirates went "Hello tomorrow" to "Hello 90's".

    1. John Guest

      Flat photography. It's the bad lighting setup (too little in the background, too much in the foreground) and the reflected wall surfaces behind the bar that make the picture look a bit off. The reclining pic is OK, if a little boring aesthetically. I don't know about this, honestly. You'd think with a big marketing budget Emirates would hire a better photographer? No need to go all out with say..Annie Leibovitz, just a moderately talented...

      Flat photography. It's the bad lighting setup (too little in the background, too much in the foreground) and the reflected wall surfaces behind the bar that make the picture look a bit off. The reclining pic is OK, if a little boring aesthetically. I don't know about this, honestly. You'd think with a big marketing budget Emirates would hire a better photographer? No need to go all out with say..Annie Leibovitz, just a moderately talented photographer who can make Cruz and the product both shine together. Right now, both Cruz and the product fall flat in these pics. Say what you will of the "Hello Tomorrow" campaign of the 00s (with bold patterns, warm lighting and quirky models), but at least it had 'oompf' and got me interested in trying Emirates business class compared to this lacklustre effort.

  9. tom Guest

    Apart from the TK ad that normally shows during the superbowl, I cannot recall ever seeing one of these airline ads on TV.

    1. Kevin B Guest

      The Emirates Jennifer Anniston Ads were all over the TV a couple years back.

  10. Bandmeeting Guest

    My will stipulates that I be cremated and my ashes thrown on Penelope Cruz.

    1. Kanaka Gold

      Someone with more talent, money, and beauty than you'll ever have. That's who.

    2. Dude26 Guest

      Enjoy the middle seat on Emirates business class Penelope's Mom.

    3. Santos Guest

      Not an anime character or TikTok influencer, so of course Gen Z would be clueless.

    4. Laszlo Guest

      Is that your value system? T"Talent" is OK, but "money" and "beauty" ... Quite shallow

    5. Gregg Guest

      If you were hoping for Ted Cruz instead, he's on some United Airlines flight to Cancun.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Kanaka Gold

Someone with more talent, money, and beauty than you'll ever have. That's who.

4
Dude26 Guest

Enjoy the middle seat on Emirates business class Penelope's Mom.

3
henare Diamond

I can't imagine being influenced by this.

2
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