November 15, 2019 
Don’t wig out.
Not when you see that Virgin Australia’s latest ‘mascot’ is a wig named ‘Wiggy’.
Its newest campaign, a video called Up, Up and Toupee, of a flying toupee swept away from a man’s head as he packs his car for his own flight, is meant to suggest how amazing it feels to fly, but we think Virgin may have missed the mark on this one.
Michael Nearhos, general manager of brand and marketing at Virgin, says that extensive research revealed how the airline needed to re-emphasise the customer experience and Virgin’s personality. For some reason, someone was paid a fortune to choose a wig to deliver this message.
“We know our Virgin personality is so widely loved, and we are so proud to hero this through our new brand campaign,” said Mr Nearhos.
“Our focus from a customer experience perspective is always on how our famous service and product make people feel, and it’s really important to us to emphasise this in our new brand positioning.”
Maybe watching a wig that flies through the sky to a soundtrack of Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warne’s Up Where We Belong is meant to illustrate the feeling of the wind blowing through your hair, or the feeling of weightlessness as you soar through the sky. But, really, it’s just a 30-second clip of a flying wig. What was Virgin thinking? Watch the video and tell us what you think.
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