Quirky TransPennine Express spot sees the unlikeliest of creatures get on board
To give its new Nova fleet of trains a warm welcome, TransPennine Express has launched a campaign that sees the unlikeliest of creatures get on board.
Transpennine
Since it was launched in 2016, TransPennine Express has worked to strengthen transport links in the North of England and Scotland to ensure its inhabitants stay connected.
As part of its vision, ‘Take the north further’, it has invested £500m on upgrading rail services across the north of England and Scotland, implementing a host of improvements that includes more seats and new routes to new connections.
To welcome its new fleet of trains, TransPennine Express has launched a campaign that spreads the message that travelling to see the people you care about is more enjoyable than ever.
A little weird and wonderful, the spot dives into a world where the unlikeliest of objects are passengers. It opens with the protagonist - a little red bucket - who makes his way down the train aisle of one of the new Nova trains.
A bunch of flowers in hand, he passes by a vinyl player who is playing records on his stomach, a flashlight drinking a cup of Yorkshire tea, a paintbrush reading a naughty book called ‘A Brush With Seduction’ and a mother sock and her little baby socks.
The little red beach bucket sits down next to a bagpipe, and together the random characters embark on a journey to meet up with the special loved ones in their life.
When they reach the final destination, the characters are reunited with their loved ones, including the paintbrush who meets up with a tin of paint and our little socks find their sock father. However, the little red beach bucket is left alone on the station platform, with no pairing in sight. Just when it looks like his journey has been in vain, he is reunited with his partner - a spade.
Discussing the launch of the campaign, Caroline Anchor, head of marketing, TransPennine Express said: “Our new campaign is based around how we help bring people together across the North of England and Scotland. And now with the introduction of our fancy new trains, with added capacity and the investment that we have made into our onboard experience, getting together has never felt better for our customers.
“We really love the characters that have been created for this campaign. It was important for us to have a launch campaign with cut-through and scale to deliver our new news in an engaging and memorable way,” she added.
Adding to this, Rob Carter, client managing director at Engine Creative said: “We always set out to deliver an idea with bucket-loads of warmth, charm and cut-through for this important new launch. Ultimately the train is the hero, but it is the diverse characters who create the relevance, showing TPE’s ultimate role in bringing the people of the North and Scotland together.”
