Center Parcs 2019 Campaign Promises Reconnection to the Real You

European activity break provider Center Parcs has launched a new integrated advertising campaign called This Is Family, created by VMLY&R. The campaign breaks today on TV and will include social, cinema, VoD and Out of Home. 

This Is Family celebrates family togetherness, positioning Center Parcs as the perfect destination for people to take the time to be their true self and give each other undivided attention.

At the heart of the campaign are three cinematic films telling the story of a family weekend getaway from three different perspectives: dad, mum, and big sister. As the protagonists swap their roles and constraints of their everyday life for fun and freedom amongst nature, the films show the emotional benefits for each of them.

Two pieces of insight into modern families are at the heart of the campaign: 

• Family time is precious, and most families don’t feel they get enough of it

• Being surrounded by nature allows people to disconnect with the day to day and to reconnect with their true self and their family

Research  shows the often-sad truths of modern life and how it can impact family life: 66% of parents worry they don’t spend enough time playing with their children and only 10% of seven-and eight-year olds walk to school unsupervised today versus 80% in 1971.

Colin Whaley, Sales and Marketing Director at Center Parcs, said: “Family life is a wonderful thing, but there are lots of challenges too. Children are surrounded by boundaries meaning parents must juggle the demands of work, family and social life and often, have to make lots of compromises.”

“We believe Center Parcs can give all family members the time and environment they need to give their family, the very best version of themselves. We want to inspire more families to take the plunge and give a short break with family at Center Parcs a go.”

Mark Roalfe, Chairman at VMLY&R said: “We set out to create a campaign that universally connects with families and aims to make Center Parcs famous for what it does best: family togetherness.”

This Is Family is VMLY&R’s first creative work for Center Parcs. The campaign follows a competitive pitch in 2017 and launches in time for the travel industry’s peak booking season. All media was planned through Hearts & Science.

Credits

Client: Center Parcs - Colin Whaley, Sales and Marketing Director, Rebecca Allinson, Head of Brand Marketing, Chris Dowse, Marketing Manager: Creative and Campaign.

Agency: VMLY&R 

Chief Creative Officer: Mark Roalfe

Creative Director: Jim Bolton

Creative: Amy Fasey, Jim Bolton 

Business Director: Anna Crabtree 

Account Director: Francesca Suffling 

Account Manager: Laura Moon

Strategy Director: John Scott 

Producer: Quiche Campbell 

Assistant Producer: Emily Browlow

Production Company: Park Pictures

Director: Tom Tagholm

Executive Producer: Stephen Brierley 

Producer: Juliet Naylor

DOP: Mauro Chiarello 

Art Director: Simon Davis

Editor: Tim Hardy

Post Production Producer: Amy Richardson MPC

Media planning/buying: Hearts and Science

Account Director: John Tomlins

Account Manager: Georgia McNaught

Audience Planning: Lysette Jones and Gareth White

AV Investment Director: Gary Sansome

Digital Director: Anna March

Data and Machine Learning: James Londall and Dimitris Korres

Search marketing: DAC

VP Managing Partner: Luke Regan

Senior Account Director: Natalie Slark

Digital Media Director: Steven Brennan

Business Analyst: Rocio Melus

Digital asset production and editing: Fat Free Media

Director: Neil Rostance 

Account Director: Kate Rostance

DoP: David Stewart

Producers: Topher Batchelor, Kat Brown, Ash Gardiner 

Editor: Ciaran Grant