Greater Anglia Invites Londoners to Escape the City
Greater Anglia has unveiled a major new multi-channel campaign, UNLONDON, to reframe East Anglia as the ultimate antidote to busy city life. The push was developed in partnership with creative agency Atomic London.
The launch follows May’s Bringing London Closer campaign, which targeted East Anglian day-trippers with the message that the capital is closer than they think. Now, UNLONDON flips the perspective, inviting Londoners to experience the peace, calm and character of East Anglia.
East Anglia, recently voted one of the top 30 places in the world to visit by Lonely Planet for 2025, is the focus of the campaign, which encourages city dwellers and Londoners aged 29-44 to discover the region’s beauty from the Norfolk Broads National Park, Cromer Beach, Historic Norwich Cathedral and Dedham Vale. All just a short train ride away.
The work is rooted in the insight that London millennials love the energy and pace of the city they call home. But even in a place they adore, everyone needs a break from the hustle and bustle.
What they’re looking for is a quick escape that feels easy and spontaneous, without needing months of planning or long hours on the road.
With direct trains from London Liverpool Street to destinations like Cromer, Norwich, The Norfolk Broads and Constable Country, Greater Anglia gives this audience an easy way to reset and recharge, then return with a fresh perspective.
At the heart of the campaign is a cinematic TV spot, directed by Dom & Nic through Outsider. It opens in a stress-filled London office, where the pressures of modern life are closing in. Suddenly, the Greater Anglia mascot appears, offering a magical escape. Guided by the brand’s red hare mascot, the protagonist is swept away from London, shedding her London life as she goes, out of the chaos and into a serene journey through East Anglia’s most iconic locations, where she lands gently beside her family, carefree and smiling on Cromer’s famous sands. It’s a literal and emotional transformation, the quickest way to UNLONDON.
The campaign comes to life on social media through a creator-led content strategy built around a familiar behaviour: people saving travel inspiration, following creators on their getaways, and increasingly booking directly from what they see in-feed.
To capture the essence of the campaign, the creators show their audiences what it truly means to UNLONDON. Each journey starts at the end, with the creator calm, refreshed and recharged. Then we rewind 48 hours to show the chaos of city life and their departure from London. Through this narrative arc, the social content captures the emotional shift that comes from escaping the city, and reveals the true impact of time spent in East Anglia. Hero video content plays out across Instagram, TikTok and other platforms, with QR codes on physical posters linking to the creators’ full journeys on the UNLONDON hub.
The campaign also introduces a new UNLONDON 'Weekender' ticket from Greater Anglia, a flexible, affordable product designed to make spontaneous escapes even easier.
The work, created in partnership with Visit East of England, is Greater Anglia’s biggest campaign of the year. Media planning and buying is by Bicycle London.
Louise Rudaizky, managing director at Atomic London, said, “With UNLONDON, we wanted to capture something we all recognise – that moment where you just need to get out of the city to reset. This campaign is about showing that East Anglia is closer, calmer and more beautiful than many Londoners realise. It’s a shift in perception, and a reminder that sometimes the best breaks are just one train ride away.”
David Metherell, head of commercial development at Greater Anglia, added, “UNLONDON is about showing Londoners something they might not have considered – just how easy it is to get to some incredible destinations across East Anglia. Whether you're after a quick day trip or a proper switch-off, our trains can take you there. And now, with our new Weekender ticket, it's easier than ever.”
