Babbel: advert-top-1 by Wieden + Kennedy London

Babbel has launched a new global brand campaign that, visually and thematically, is of another world. The campaign, which has now launched globally across TV, social, and digital channels, was created with Wieden+Kennedy London. The campaign presents an interplanetary protagonist that unifies all language learners in the shape of ‘Alexi’: a newly arrived extraterrestrial on Planet Earth, who embodies the universal feeling of alienation when in a different country (or solar system) with no knowledge of the native tongue. It is delivered via a 2-minute filmic feature for social media, as well as two playful 30-second spots for TV.

The campaign unfolds with Alexi rolling between multiple, close encounters of the awkward kind - from unsuccessfully asking for directions, to being locked out of a hotel room; and in mistaking a serious anecdote for a comedic punchline - leaving our alien visitor dismayed at his own inability to be understood and navigate a route through his various plights. In Alexi’s own words, 'When you don’t know the language you feel like an outsider.'

After downloading the Babbel app, however, Alexi is finally equipped with the tools to converse, swiftly making friends, confidently cracking jokes, and feeling ever more at home in a world where he first felt entirely alien. Alexi’s journey acts as a unifying metaphor for all Babbel users, and reflects Babbel’s desire to quell the initial feelings of trepidation experienced by all language learners. The campaign, which launched in April, is reinforcing Babbel’s positioning as the ‘conversation experts’ and building on W+K London’s successful 2016 and 2017 campaigns created with the language learning company.