Avanti West Coast Invites Travellers to 'Be With Them Sooner'

The campaign by adam&eveDDB is rooted by passengers' desire to spend time with their loved ones

By Creative Salon

13 October 2025

Avanti West Coast, the long-distance rail operator, focuses on the real reasons behind passengers’ destination choices in a new campaign created by adam&eveDDB and shot by legendary photographer Martin Parr.

‘Be With Them Sooner’ is rooted in Avanti West Coast’s understanding of what really drives people to travel. Research shows that 37%* of overnight journeys are motivated by the desire to spend time with our loved ones – more than any other reason.

Yet travel campaigns typically target the leisure audience, focusing on tourist attractions rather than human connection. This presented a huge opportunity for Avanti West Coast to position itself as the operator of choice for reuniting people with loved ones, with train travel at the heart of those moments.

Martin Parr’s ability to capture the authentic emotions of ordinary people made him the ideal partner for the project. The finished campaign takes Parr’s portraits and adds Avanti West Coast’s instantly recognisable station signage along with a line explaining the city’s real attraction for that person, such as “Liverpool. Home of your squidgy new niece” and “Macclesfield. Home of the friend you’d drop anything for”.

The campaign runs across out of home, social and audio, with the creative being adapted to work throughout Avanti West Coast’s many destinations across the UK. Dynamic OOH enables regionally targeted messages to be displayed in locations that Avanti West Coast can take you to, helping you reach your loved ones sooner – meaning people in Glasgow might see a version saying “Manchester. Home of…” along with details of the journey time between the cities, reinforcing the benefit and speed of travelling by train.

Dynamic audio also boosts the relevance, by targeting listeners with specific ads depending on where they’re located.

Sarah Copley, Commercial Director, Avanti West Coast, said: “The campaign delivers on our brief in an unexpected way. And with Martin Parr’s unmistakable eye behind the camera, it not only strengthens our connection with customers, but also gives us real differentiation ensuring train travel with Avanti is front of mind for customers travelling to visit friends or loved ones.”

Andy Mcananey, Creative Director, adam&eveDDB London, added: “What makes West Coast destinations a joy to visit? The people who live there. This campaign brings this idea to life, capturing a broad cross-section of the British public, the ones we love to see most. We couldn’t have asked for a more suitable person to shoot them than Martin Parr. Thankfully, he said yes.”

The campaign breaks early October, ahead of the key Christmas booking period, with an initial two-week burst of OOH, while social and audio will be always-on.

Credits:

Brand: Avanti West Coast

Project/Campaign Name: Be With Them Sooner // Visiting Friends and Family

Client: Avanti West Coast

Commercial Director: Sarah Copley

Head of Marketing: Jen Inglis

Senior Marketing Manager: Ellie Woolmore

Senior Marketing Communications Manager: Matt Littlechild

Marketing Communications Executive: Melissa Locke

Agency: adam&eveDDB

Chief Creative Officers: Ant Nelson, Mike Sutherland

Creative Directors: Christian Sewell, Andy Mcananey