Yes, That's William Shatner Singing Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in This New Ad

Campaign for U.K. Travel Brand Thomson Invites You to 'Discover Your Smile'

Published On
Sep 22, 2014

Editor's Pick

U.K. travel brand Thomson combines Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (voiced beautifully by William "Star Trek" Shatner) with the story of a much-loved teddy bear who is taken on a family vacation to Jamaica in its latest ad. It's a follow-up to Thomson's "Simon the Ogre" spot, which featured a Shrek-like Dad gradually transforming into a regular father by way of his vacation.

In this ad, it's the one-eyed bear who is removed from his day-to-day life of being bumped on the stairs and forced to participate in doll's tea parties, and "discovers his smile" (the tagline of the campaign) as he gets away from it all (and has a holiday romance with a toy pony). It's subtle, but the bear's sewed-on smile -- which also resembles the logo of Thomson's German parent company, TUI -- gradually widens as the story progresses.

The 60-second spot, by Beattie McGuinness Bungay, broke during the season premiere of Britain's "The X Factor" this weekend and a 30-second version will be broadcast through October, with further executions to follow in the New Year.

Credits

Date
Sep 22, 2014
Brand :
Thomson
Client :
Thomson
Agency :
Beattie McGuinness Bungay
Executive Creative Director :
Trevor Beattie
Creative Director :
Pat Burns
Creative :
Rachel Miles
Creative :
Michael Tsim
Agency Producer :
Gill Loftus
Production Company :
Park Pictures
Director :
Tom Tagholm
Executive Producer :
Stephen Brierley
Producer :
Fran Thompson
Production Manager :
Ananda Coulier
Director, Photography :
Martin Ruhe
Model Maker :
Anarchy
Soft Technician/Teddy Bear Wrangler :
Danielle Boyne
Post Production :
Realise Studio

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