Cathay Pacific’s 80-year anniversary film speaks to the airline’s unwavering values

Cathay Pacific has released a 10-minute brand film celebrating 80 years, an increasingly rare commitment in a short-form world.

‘The Journey Home’ by Leo Burnett Hong Kong is directed by David Tsui. It follows a multi-generational story of a mother and daughter separated by ambition and geography, tracking decades of Hong Kong’s evolution alongside Cathay’s history.

The mother-daughter relationship is fraught at times, but maternal support is shown to be what drives the daughter on to succeed through the tough times faced during her upbringing and her dancing career in New York.

Air travel is the piece’s central metaphor, providing a stable thread between the locations that shape the protagonists’ life journey.

The film ends with the caption ‘what takes us further brings us closer together’.

Distance between the pair has healed their wounds and created a longing that ultimately deepens their connection.

Comparison

The piece builds on Cathay’s earlier emotionally-led work, like ‘Till We Fly Again’ (2020), but scales up dramatically, both in runtime and ambition.

Where the latter also focused on memory, albeit through montage, ‘The Journey Home’ opts for long-form storytelling grounded in character.

Director David Tsui reflects: “This story is about how human connection is interwoven with the history of Cathay Pacific.”

Our take

In an era of declining attention spans, Cathay leans the other way and is rewarded with depth. The film is subtly moving, and the editing pace builds the story successfully.

The central idea is to place Cathay not as transport, but as a vehicle for memory and identity, both for the protagonist and Hong Kong itself.

The boldest move here, however, is the duration. 80 years is quite the stint, and calls for a little long-form brand-building and legacy-making.

Rightly, they opted to keep it simple but powerful, showcasing the importance of connection and connections.

Credits

Client: Cathay Pacific
Agency: Leo Burnett Hong Kong
Director: David Tsui
Production: Moviola Productions
Music: Drum Music