Qatar Airways says that there’s nothing quite like the World Cup on the horizon to put a spring into everybody’s step. This sense of fun and anticipation is perfectly captured in Qatar Airways’ first World Cup campaign, which features a re-recording of the classic song ‘Dancing in the Streets’ with singer and TV star Nicole Scherzinger – best known as judge on both the UK and US’s X-Factor. The result is an upbeat and infectiously fun-filled ‘musical’ style TV commercial.
The World Cup is set to bring fans from all over the world together in Russia this summer, and this new anthem from Qatar Airways will unite them as never before. The catchy and uplifting song expresses the airline’s firm belief that sports is a universal language which has the power to inspire and encourage people to follow their dreams.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Our latest commercial expresses our excitement in being part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup RussiaTM, one of the most anticipated events on the global sports calendar. And we are delighted to have partnered with the extremely talented Nicole Scherzinger on this commercial. Nicole’s voice truly conveys the excitement we all feel in the run-up to the FIFA 2018 World Cup Russia™, and captures our own enthusiasm about sports, as well as the power of an event like this in bringing people together.”
“Music is a force for good,” said Scherzinger. “Historically, it is one of the most powerful forces for uniting humans because it transcends language barriers. This particular song that we’re working on is so powerful and it has a strong message – it celebrates and unites.”
In May 2017, Qatar Airways announced a groundbreaking sponsorship deal with FIFA, which saw the award-winning airline become the Official Partner and Official Airline of FIFA until 2022. The partnership, one of the biggest sporting sponsorships in the world, gives Qatar Airways extensive marketing and branding rights at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ and the 2022 World Cup Qatar™, with an expected audience reach of more than two billion people per tournament.
The agreement sees Qatar Airways become the Official Airline Partner of the FIFA Club World Cup™, the FIFA Women’s World Cup™, the FIFA Under-20 and Under 17 World Cups™, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup™, and the FIFA Interactive World Cup™.
Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Marketing and Corporate Communications, Ms. Salam Al Shawa, added: “Like millions of fans around the world, we are getting ready for the best summer of football ever. We want fans to feel the fun-filled vibe that we have created with our new commercial and celebrate with us in the run-up to the World Cup. Our goal is to inspire people to dance, dream and be happy as they come together from around the world for this celebration of football.”
The airline’s partnership with FIFA builds on its existing sponsorship strategy with premier sporting clubs around the world. In March, Qatar Airways signed a five-year partnership agreement with leading German football team FC Bayern München AG, making the award-winning airline an FC Bayern München platinum partner until June 2023.
Qatar Airways also recently revealed multi-year sponsorship agreements with Italian football club AS Roma, for which it will become the Official Jersey Sponsor through the 2020-21 season; and with Argentinian football club Boca Juniors, for which it will become the Official Jersey Sponsor through the 2021-22 season.
As part of a newly-enhanced three-season deal with Formula E, announced in Doha in January this year, the airline will also be the title sponsor of the upcoming Qatar Airways New York City E-Prix, taking place on 14-15 July.
Qatar Airways proudly flies one of the youngest fleets in the skies, featuring the world’s most technologically-advanced aircraft. In February, the airline was the global launch customer for the A350-1000, the latest member of Airbus’s wide-body aircraft portfolio. The A350-1000 offers cutting-edge lightweight carbon composite design, as well as incredibly fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, bringing major advantages in fuel and costs efficiency.
Leading the host of awards received by the airline last year is the prestigious accolade of 2017 ‘Airline of the Year,’ awarded by the 2017 Skytrax World Airline Awards, which was held at the Paris Air Show. This is the fourth time that Qatar Airways has been given this global recognition. In addition to being voted Best Airline by travellers from around the world, Qatar’s national carrier also won a raft of other major awards at the ceremony, including ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge’.
Qatar Airways recently revealed a host of upcoming new global destinations, including the announcement that it will be the first Gulf carrier to begin direct service to Luxembourg. Other exciting new destinations to be launched by the airline include Tallinn, Estonia; Valletta, Malta; Cebu and Davao, Philippines; Langkawi, Malaysia; Da Nang, Vietnam; Bodrum and Antalya, Turkey; Mykonos, Greece and Málaga, Spain.
