Role: Senior Art Director (Campaign Concept & Design)
Agency: BBDO
Scope: Consumer print & digital ads, travel-agent mailer, supporting collateral
My Role
I led the creative vision and design, shaping both consumer-facing ads and the signature travel-agent gift. From early sketches to final key art, I distilled our dual-track strategy into a unified concept: a musical keepsake that literally resonated with Chicago’s heritage while embodying Dubai’s forward-looking promise.
The Work
Our core idea: “Tune In to Tomorrow.”
Consumer Campaign
Print posters and digital banners invited Chicagoans to “Hear Tomorrow’s Beat” in Dubai—pairing clipped headlines with evocative imagery of city skylines and cultural touchstones.Agent Mailer
We created a retro harmonica branded with the ORD–DXB flight code. Packaged in a bespoke box that revealed schedule details when opened, it served as both a playful nod to Chicago’s blues roots and a durable reminder of the new route.Digital Extensions
Animated banners mirrored the harmonica’s “unboxing,” leading agents and consumers to a dedicated microsite with easy booking links and route highlights.
Results
The “Tune In to Tomorrow” campaign hit its mark on both fronts. The harmonica quickly became a talking point in travel-agent newsletters and was hailed by Emirates’ sales teams as their most memorable launch tool. Consumer ads drove a spike in route searches, while media outlets—from trade publications to the Chicago Tribune—picked up on our musical metaphor, cementing ORD–DXB as a must-know connection.
This launch taught me the power of a single, resonant device to bridge consumer and trade audiences. By turning a simple harmonica into a carrier of route information—and pairing it with visuals that resonate—we gave Emirates a concept that sang in every channel and reverberated long after the inaugural flight.
