The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

October 14, 2014 | 2 min read

Thorne Travel company, the firm behind a cringe-inducing must-see ad, has announced a 110 per cent rise in bookings since the video went viral last week.

Shona Thorne, manager of Thorne Travel based in the Scottish town of Kilwinning, told the Mail Online that as a result of the ad's success, the travel agent's business has increased by 110 per cent.

The video, which has had almost 900,000 views, became a global hit with many users amused - and confused - by a cross-dressing free runner, the amateur special effects and an unsettlingly small ship captain. The ad was topped off with a painfully long shot of the team sassily strutting through an overcast Kilwinning.

As a result of the unexpected attention, the firm had to disable YouTube comments as social media users mocked the video in their thousands.

Thorne said: “Bookings have increased by 110 per cent. We have had customers and people from the town popping in with flowers, cards and gifts saying how amazed they are with all the publicity our little town has got.

'We are so amazed that we are in Australian and New Zealand papers and had e-mails from people all over the world saying that they love the video. This shows travel agencies have definitely changed and moved with the times.”

Notably, the head of Thorne Travel claimed the advert was supposed to be a ‘tongue in cheek' attempt at a Virgin Airlines ad.