LNER and McCann Bet Big on Eleanor

Train advertising can often feel like it is selling the same thing on a loop: speed, price, legroom, wi-fi, repeat and for a largely captive audience. Hence the relatively formulaic nature of its advertising.

But for LNER, the latest campaign from McCann London arrives at a moment when the story has genuinely moved on. A significant timetable update has unlocked 10,000 additional services a year, alongside around 60,000 extra seats every week, giving the brand not just more inventory to fill, but a rare commercial moment worth making noise about.

That task falls in part to John Galloway, LNER’s head of marketing, who knows this patch better than most. Galloway has spent more than 20 years in marketing across destination marketing, healthcare and rail, and joined the railway back in 2014, working through the closing stretch of the East Coast brand before helping launch and grow Virgin Trains East Coast and then continuing that journey with LNER. He now leads the team charged with making the operator feel unmistakable in a category where most trips are optional, competition comes from every direction, and habit can be hard to build.

LNER is not simply competing against other rail operators. It is up against the car, domestic aviation, coaches and, increasingly, the call of not going anywhere at all. In that context, the job is not just to communicate a timetable change or a value message. It is to make the brand spring to mind when people are weighing up how they want to travel, and to make the experience feel like something worth choosing.

On the agency side, that challenge is being shaped by Jon Elsom, McCann London’s executive creative director, Global Brands, whose guiding principle is straightforward enough: great work that works great. Elsom and his team saw in LNER not just a transport brief, but a chance to elevate the brand beyond service messaging and into something more emotionally resonant.

Hence the growing role of Eleanor, LNER’s red-haired brand character.

In the most recent campaign, she moves further forward as the warm, witty embodiment of the brand — less mascot, more distinctive shorthand for the sense of freedom LNER wants to own. If the previous campaign helped establish the rational case for choosing the train, this one is more interested in the feeling of it: the comfort, the ease, and that pleasure of realising your time is your own again.

Creative Salon caught up with Galloway and Elsom to talk about the business opportunity behind the campaign, the evolution of Eleanor, and why LNER believes rail can win not just on function, but on feeling too.

Creative Salon: Why is this a key advertising period for LNER?

John Galloway: This campaign is timed to land on a genuine step-change for LNER: a transformational timetable update that unlocks 10,000 additional services a year — around 60,000 extra seats every week. It’s the kind of rare operational ‘uplift’ that creates a clear moment for a brand to show up, to celebrate what’s new, and to convert that additional capacity into fresh demand.

What are the particular challenges that they face?

Galloway: Most LNER journeys are optional, not essential — people actively choose whether to travel, and who to travel with. We’re not just competing with open access train operators; we’re competing with the car, flying, coaches, and even the option of staying put (for example, taking a meeting on Zoom). And because we’re a long-distance operator, many customers only make one or two trips a year, which means we need to make an impact to build habit. That’s why our focus is on putting LNER front of mind, making sure that when someone starts planning a trip, LNER is the first option they think of.

Value for money perceptions are another perennial hurdle for rail, a perception we are working hard to improve. Our campaign is designed to answer that emotionally and experientially — spotlighting what you actually get with LNER: a fast, comfortable, freeing journey where time becomes yours again, not something you spend in traffic.

What is your ambition with this campaign - does its objectives differ from previous ones - and how will you measure if it has been a success?

Galloway: This campaign is about championing what long distance travel with LNER feels like at its best: easy, comfortable and genuinely freeing. Taking on the car and domestic flights more explicitly in our work, communicating the benefits we offer over those other modes.

Our previous campaign performed strongly, particularly in communicating the rational reasons to choose LNER and it delivered solid short term returns. But we also saw an opportunity to build greater long term impact by creating deeper emotional engagement with the brand.

So this new work leans into the feeling of the journey — that moment you settle into your seat the time becomes yours to spend however you like, in comfort. Early System1 “Test Your Ad” results suggest it’s landing, with our 60” TVC achieving a 4.5 star rating.

You’ll also see us bring more of our brand mascot, Eleanor, to the foreground. She’s a powerful distinctive asset for LNER, and in just two years 43 per cent of people along the route can already identify her and correctly link her back to the brand. Now we want to build on that momentum — using her wit and warmth to strengthen the emotional connection audiences have with LNER.

We’ll track success through ongoing ad and brand tracking with Trinity McQueen, alongside econometrics with Adclaro.

Jon Elsom: From an agency point of view our ambition for this campaign is that it strengthens people’s recognition of and engagement with the LNER brand, through a friendly, and loveable character.

This is your second year working with McCann- why did you pick them?

Galloway: McCann were successful following a highly competitive pitch — strong on the thinking, strong on the craft, and clear on where they wanted to take the work next. They brought a compelling direction for the brand, with smart, character-led evolutions for Eleanor that felt both fresh and true to LNER. In addition, they had a solid approach to account management and there was an easy chemistry between our teams.

Elsom: We knew as soon as we met John and his team that we could do great things together. Right from the first chemistry meeting before the pitch process kicked off we could tell we saw things the same way, strategically and creatively. It was clear that there was a real ambition to elevate the LNER brand far above being a service, and that John’s team trusted us to know how to take them on the journey to that sunny place.

Why did you stick with the Eleanor character and how has it evolved since its creation?

Galloway: In just two years, Eleanor has become one of LNER’s strongest distinctive assets — and the data backs it up. Today, 43 per cent of people along the route correctly link her to LNER; 69 per cent report a positive reaction; and 71 per cent say she feels like a natural fit for the brand. More than a character, Eleanor is how we bring LNER’s personality to life: a warm, witty presence that adds a little joy to the experience and champions the sense of freedom customers feel when they travel with us.

Elsom: A brand character is always such a powerful device when you get it right. Eleanor is fun, memorable, infectious and also branded, with her red hair and name. We wanted to develop her character further and deeper. The first thing we did was develop a full back-story for her so that we truly knew her. We also clearly defined her values and character traits, and created a Dos and Don’ts guide. Another significant thing is that we wanted to give her a voice. A friendly, chatty tone delivered with a gentle north-eastern twang felt perfect. And now we don’t just know what she sounds like, we know how well she can sing!

What else can we expect to see next from Eleanor/LNER this year?

Elsom: Well, there’s no stopping her now. She’s out there, up and down the line, Kings Cross to Scotland and all points in between. Ready to explore, have fun and inspire the British public that travelling by train instead of car or plane is the way to go. She’s the face of freedom and we’re going to free her up fully, across all media.