Not Your Average 'Out-Of-Office'

Let’s admit it, we all enjoy the sneaky feeling of popping our ‘out-of-office’ on. Whether it’s for a break abroad, some festive time off, or just a single day’s annual leave, there’s no denying putting that automatic response on gives you a tiny thrill.  So taking advantage of this universal experience, British Airways Holidays' clever new campaign shows us a witty twist on the usual automatic email responses we receive. 

The campaign consists of multiple billboards, located across Piccadilly Circus and Chiswick in London. Whilst upon first glance the emails may look like your typical out of office reply, a closer look at the copy demonstrates that this is most definitely not the case. Rather than informing the recipient that the individual will ‘respond upon their return’ or providing their mobile number ‘in case of emergency’, the emails state quite the opposite. There are a few different ‘out-of-office’ replies plastered on these billboards; two of these consist of ‘Your email is important to me. But then again, so is my marriage and my book. So..’ and my personal favourite ‘Replying to your email is on my list of things to do. Just below licking a jellyfish.’ The billboards have been quite the hit on socials, with people talking about their admiration of the clever campaign. 

But what is the campaign about? 

The billboards are another instalment of the British Airways Holidays campaign known as ‘Take Your Holiday Seriously’. The message behind it is centred around reminding Brits to take some well needed time off. Although it may not seem like the biggest issue amongst current affairs such as the cost-of-living crisis and war in Ukraine, scientists have advised that not properly taking time off will kill you sooner. In the UK, 50% of us don’t take our full annual leave allocation, which is why British Airways Holidays are encouraging us Brits to use all of our annual leave. But not only that, to also take the time off seriously and avoid checking our work emails whilst away, like many of us are guilty of doing.

So, next time you are writing that automatic ‘out-of-office’ response, perhaps take a leaf out of British Airways Holidays’ book and let your colleagues, clients and customers know there’s absolutely no chance you will be checking your emails whilst you are smugly sipping cocktails on the beach.

If you are looking for your next witty campaign, drop us a message, we’d love to chat