Ogilvy NY Helps BA Provide 'A Ticket to Visit Mum'

Micro-documentaries often prove fruitful ground for brands wanting to create 'content', but it takes more than a simple retelling of a customer experience or product heritage to generate online buzz. With that in mind, Ogilvy & Mather New York opted instead to tell a simple story in their factual piece for British Airways' Indian flights; based upon a simple truism… we all love the taste of Mum's home cooking.

 
'A Ticket to Visit Mum' is an utterly endearing tale concerning Ratnesh, a young Indian migrant to America who moved from his hometown of Mumbai, and his mother, whom he left behind when just 17 and hasn't seen since. The maguffin of the piece is the 'okra parathas' Ratnesh's mum is preparing for him, expecting it to be flown over to her son by a BA courier. However, as the dish is packaged and prepared to be jetted out, it's revealed that the person sent to pick it up is someone special – Ratnesh himself.
 
Touching and involving, the film is a great example of highlighting the real-life potential of a brand's service rather than expounding on the individual facets, and because of this resonates on an emotional level. We caught up with Matt Bonin, Chief Production Officer of Ogilvy & Mather, and Alfonso Marian, Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy One NY  to discuss the challenges involved in creating compelling 'content'.

 
How did you come up with the idea for a documentary film for BA?
 
The idea started actually from a business problem British Airways had – even though they offer great service to India, with lots of thoughtful amenities like Jain or Hindu meals, they were perceived as culturally disconnected by many ex-patriot Indians. So we thought, what is a good first step toward proving that we understand and appreciate the culture? The special relationship between mothers in India and their children seemed to be a great place to start.
 
Where did you find Ratesh? Why tell his story in particular?
 
We looked for ex-pats living here in the States who still had parents living back in India. We interviewed them, and asked us to tell us a bit about themselves, their favourite meal their mom makes, etc. Ratnesh was just a very honest person – he tells his story without hiding any of his emotions, so it made him a natural choice.

 
The film utilises the flexible viewing time of online. Was it always the plan to create a mini-doc, or did you contemplate a more standard 30/60second campaign?
 
No not at all. We originally envisioned filling an entire plane with meals cooked by moms and flying them back to America to surprise their children. We dreamed big – 250 meals from 250 moms. Then we cut it to 50. Then 12. Then to try to keep it to three to four minutes, we settled on telling one story more intimately. But the story itself dictated the timing. This is a story about missing someone you love – and those emotions need space. The great part about this being NFB is we were able to let the story breathe, and to be told well.
 
This is one of those examples of 'branded content' where the concept, tone and film craft match perfectly with the brand. Is it tough to judge? How do you decide that the more 'non-traditional' (to use a slightly archaic term) path is the one to take? Did the client take convincing?
 
British Airways loved the idea the second we presented it to them – and honestly, they were incredible throughout. As I said, we changed the storytelling a few times in the process and even the length. But they showed complete trust in us. This is a very non-traditional way to approach a retail brief, but we believed it would be effective. British Airways was willing to take the gamble, and so far it's worked even better than we thought it would.

 
How was the shoot? How did you coordinate the two halves?
 
We are very lucky to have brought on board an in-house director, Brandon Laganke, and having him with us every day through the conception and the evolution of the idea was invaluable. Because he owned this concept as much as any of us – we were able to shoot with a really light crew, and only one Ogilvy creative on set. Brandon pretty much handled all the New York shooting on his own. Having a director embedded in the creative team is an amazing opportunity.
 
Emotions must have been pretty high when the reunion occurred. Was there a dry eye in the house? Did everyone have their Mums on speed dial?
 
It was definitely very emotional, so much so that we almost ruined the surprise. Everyone was so caught up in what was about to happen that when Ratnesh came in he nearly walked right into the kitchen before the shot was set. Our producer was able to stop in just in the nick of time so we were able to be a part of the experience. And yes, we've all been calling our mothers far more frequently since we've finished the edit.

 
When it came to the edit, how did you manage the tone? Were you worried about creating something too mawkish / false-looking?
 
We weren't overly concerned with that, because Ratnesh and Alka are so honest and sincere and we were just letting them tell their story. Our largest concern was how British Airways could be a part of their story without overly inserting ourselves. This was Ratnesh and Alka's moment that British Airways helped make happen – not a British Airways moment. That was a hard line to walk and the client was very brave.
 
The project has proved very popular amongst bloggers and viewers. Are you happy with the response? Did you expect to move so many people?
 
We've had some laudatory things said about our work by people we respect very much – so that's been very flattering. As far as our expectations, we were all moved when we saw the first rough cut and everyone who has seen it internally has had a similar response – so we knew we had film that would resonate.

 
The film is obviously the star of the campaign, but is there any work around it?
 
Yes. This territory is incredibly rich so we have a large inventory of ideas and tactics we are developing around it – the bar has been set high, but we hope our next execution will equal this one in impact.
 
Is this film a stand-alone piece, or are there more reunions in the offing?

You'll have to wait and see.