United Airlines Salutes Winter Olympians, and Its Own Employees, as Superheroes in New Ads

Air Raider. Arctic Angel. King Quad. Storm Tamer. Winged Wonder. These are some of the "superheroes" appearing in mcgarrybowen's new United Airlines campaign ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, next month. We're not talking about marvels (or even Marvels) who leap tall buildings in a single bound, spin webs from their fingers or dress up as flying mammals. There's nary a cape, cowl nor magical super-duper-power in sight. Instead, these heroes fall into two distinct categories: the six U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes sponsored by United (official airline of Team USA) and a half-dozen of the carrier's own employees responsible for transporting the competitors and their gear to the Games and back. Each subject gets a goofy superhero nickname that references either their chosen Olympic sport or United job description. Brawny two-time Paralympic sled hockey gold medalist Nikko Landeros is "The Fury," raising a blue-gloved fist and boldly proclaiming "Team USA to South Korea!" in the ad below. When no magical transportation occurs, Olympic bronze medal-winning luger Erin Hamlin—hero name: "The Rocket"—points out, "WE can't fly. But you know who can…" [kickout id="1"] … the helpful crew at United, of course! They'll get our Olympic heroes to the Games on time! (As for the rest of us, well, delays happen, and living at the airport can be fun.) In the next spot, there's no in-flight phone booth for superhero-costume changes, so figure skater Nathan Chen, aka "King Quad," has to improvise: [kickout id="2"] So, United customer service rep Lemont Penn is really "Departicus." Whoa, dude! Among the airline superheroes, they left out United CEO Oscar Munoz. Wise move. To some, he's more of a super villain. The Re-Accommodator, perhaps? The Overbooker? Kidding, of course. Just tossing in a little good-natured turbulence. "The tie between superheroes and Team USA athletes is clear. They are regular people who use their exceptional talents to accomplish the incredible," says Mark Krolick, vp of marketing at United Airlines. "For close to four decades, our employees have called upon their unique skills—transporting hundreds of thousands of customers every day, while working in rapidly changing weather conditions and providing exceptional service—to give the 'power of flight' to Team USA athletes, getting them to competitions around the globe." United tapped a pair of Hollywood A-listers, director Martin Campbell (Green Lantern, Goldeneye, Casino Royale) and composer Brian Tyler (The Avengers, Iron Man, The Fast and the Furious), to ensure the campaign flies first class. "I just thought it was a great idea," says Campbell in the making-of clip below. "I thought it was pretty unique. We shot in an airport, we shot in a skating rink. And I have to say, it was an exciting experience, even for me." [kickout id="3"] "Martin Campbell’s eye for drama is uncanny," says Haydn Morris, executive creative director at mcgarrybowen, which developed the campaign. "He knew how to bring out the right amount of ‘bigness’ in each shot, giving it a real cinematic quality." Here's a mostly musical clip that focuses on Tyler's impressively rousing score, recorded with an 80-person orchestra: [kickout id="4"] Like all classic superheroes, the athletes also get "origin stories." Here's one example: [kickout id="5"] No origin stories for the employees, though. Presumably, they just filled out United applications. Additional content includes the cast discussing times they've felt like superheroes: [kickout id="6"] They also reveal who they'd want sitting on either side of them during a long flight: [kickout id="8"] Lucille Ball and Nick Lachey?! Why land? Next, each star pick his or her favorite superpower: [kickout id="7"] There's a sweet, transcendent moment when Olympic silver medalist freeskier Gus Kenworthy chooses invisibility, then quickly changes his mind. "My whole life in the closet, I was like, trying to be invisible," he says. "And then, since coming out, I feel like my whole life's been about visibility. So I'd rather fly." "For Gus Kenworthy, we had a stunt double that was going to do the harness ‘flip’ in the terminal," says Morris. "After Gus watched the double do it, he put on the uniform and pushed to do the stunt himself. He nailed it nearly every time!" Such a doll! In fact, they all are: [kickout id="9"] CREDITS Team USA superheroes: • Gus Kenworthy. Freeskier from Telluride, Colorado and 2014 Olympic silver medalist in slopestyle. • Jamie Anderson. Snowboarder from South Lake Tahoe, California and 2014 Olympic gold medalist. • J.R. Celski. Short track speedskater from Federal Way, Washington and 2014 Olympic silver medalist and double bronze medalist at the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010. • Erin Hamlin. Luger from Remsen, New York and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist. • Nathan Chen. Figure skater from Salt Lake City, Utah. • Nikko Landeros. Sled hockey player from Johnstown, Colorado and two-time Paralympic gold medalist (2010, 2014). UA employee superheroes: - Nancy Barteczko – Pilot - Lemont Penn – Customer Service Rep - Mike Murgaditchian - Operations - Craig Cosentino - Ramp/Baggage - Michael Turner - Ramp/Wingwalker - Karla Gonzales De La Torre – Flight Attendant Agency : mcgarrybowen NY US Chief Creative Officer : Ned Crowley Managing Director, Executive Creative Director : Haydn Morris Group Creative Director : David DiRienz GCD, writer: Chris Pacetta Senior Art Director: Dane Alexander Jr Art Director: David Castillo Director of Broadcast Production : Dante Piacenza Executive Producer: Stacy Kay Senior Art Producer: Kim Stoerker Senior Producer: Katie West Managing Director, Global Music Production: Jerry Krenach Executive Music Producer : Jean Scofield Managing Director, Account: Christopher Blades Group Managing Director: Ethel Uy Executive Director, Strategy: Diane Epstein Production Company: Saville Productions Director: Martin Campbell Executive Producer : Rupert Maconick Head of Production: Michelle Travinski Producer: David Moore Editorial House : Cut + Run NY Editor : Jon Grover Senior Producer : Ellese Jobin Original Music Composer and Conductor : Brian Tyler Rhapsody in Blue Composer: George Gershwin Orchestrator : Max Lombardo and Dana Niu Score Coordinator: Breton Vivian and James Regan Engineer and Mixer: Greg Hayes Music Editor : Joe Lisanti and Kyle Clausen Music Preparation: Eric Stonerook Music Contractor and Coordinator : Peter Rotter & Encompass Music Partners Sound Designer: Stephen Dewey Executive Producer : Patty Chow Dewery, Machinehead Music Record: Eastwood Scoring Stage – Warner Bros. Studios Studio Manager, Warner Bros. Studios: Jamie Olvera Music Production Company: Mophonics Executive Creative Director: Stephan Altman Head of Production: Shelley Altman Creative Producer: Kristoffer Roggemann Executive Producer: Amanda Fink Additional Production: Shea Duncan Music Mix Engineer: Michael Marinelli, Sonic Union Visual Effects: Framestore Producer : Sophie Harrison VFX Supervisor: Adrian Hurley VFX : Dez Macleod-Veilleux Head of Flame: Raul Ortego Motion Graphics: Sarofsky Executive Creative Director: Erin Sarofsky Creative Director: Jens Mebes Executive Producer: Steven Anderson Senior Producer: Bryan Haney Illustrator: Jeremy Roberts Print Illustrator: Cliff Nielsen Behind the Scenes Production Company: Bitter Jester Studios Post Production Services: Periscope Post & Audio and Bitter Jester Studios Director: Nicolas DeGrazia Director of Photography: Daniel Kullman BTS - Superheroes Editors: Michael Thomas James and Daniel Kullman Assistant Editor: Zoé Kraft Re-recording Mixer: John Wong BTS - Making of the Original Score Editor: Nicolas DeGrazia Colorist: C. Ryan Stemple

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United Airlines Salutes Winter Olympians, and Its Own Employees, as Superheroes in New Ads

Flight crew includes director Martin Campbell, composer Brian Tyler

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