Best Travel Ads This Week: WestJet Viral Video and More Holiday Cheer

WestJet has bested all other airlines at surprising passengers with a holiday treat. American‘s attempt at a similar surprise falls flat and Air France/KLM skip over the holidays all together. We also look at two destination ads for Brussels and Tuscany.

WestJet hit a holiday home run with its video showing one of the best airline surprises of all time. Passengers told a live Santa cam want they wanted for Christmas, and the exact gifts were awaiting the flyers when they touched down in their destination. The video gained 15 million views in four days making it one of the most viral videos of 2013.

American Airlines‘ attempt at a holiday surprise pales in comparison to WestJet’s above. The airline gifts one plane of passengers with a Coca-Cola stuffed bear and extra airline miles. It will have to be more extravagant than that to capture the heart of Internet creatures worldwide.

This short Air France-KLM commercial artfully shows the airlines’ global network while touching on its large business traveler base with a suited man drawing the glowing map.

This beautifully made video from Visit Tuscany follows a tour group as they meet with craftsmen, visit museums, and enjoy long meals at quaint restaurants. The ad is on the longer side for tourism spots at 2 minutes and 20 seconds, but it moves quickly aided by upbeat music and detailed imagery.

The latest tourism ad from Visit Brussels targets young travelers by following around a couple as they interact with the city and locals. The video paints a picture of a city ready to explore where friendly faces will welcome you at coffee shops and dance with you at concerts.

The filmography is well done, but the tourism board falls into cliches of what they think millennial travelers will care about most.