Emirates makes a joke of its American rivals with Jennifer Aniston advert

Emirates brand ambassador Jennifer Aniston looks in vain for the shower on a rival’s flight in the airline’s new online video advert.

ABU DHABI // Emirates has launched a new weapon against complaining American competitors – laughter.

In a one-minute online ad, her first as the airline’s brand ambassador, Jennifer Aniston plays a bewildered US airline passenger, wearing a bathrobe and clutching a loofah and a bag of toiletries, who asks the flight attendants where she can find the shower.

“I’m going to look pretty silly dressed like this going to the bar,” the actress says.

The attendants tell her there is no shower and no bar, and offer hot towels and some nuts. “This isn’t an Emirates plane, ma’am,” they say.

In the next scene, Aniston wakes up in her private suite in an Emirates first-class cabin, and realises the whole episode was a nightmare. The ad’s slogan is: “Wake up to flying as it should be.”

The ad scores a direct hit on its target, experts said yesterday. “It isn’t just a thinly veiled barb at US airlines, it depicts a real-world situation,” said Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research.

“For too long, customers have paid a lot of money and had poor value in return. The expansion of Emirates, particularly in the United States, has changed the game and the reality is that US airlines are simply ill-equipped to compete.

“It’s a smart, savvy and sharp advertisement and Jennifer Aniston works brilliantly well.”