Suisse
A five-star ad that touts a broken train line
Worthy of Hollywood, the new promo selling our panoramic network is set in an interrupted section.
Published
Roger Federer and Trevor Noah star in the video.
20min/Michael Scherrer
The poster, with two megastars, is a dream, but the frame is a stain. In its new ad, which comes out on Thursday, Switzerland Tourism has bet on the wrong train to illustrate our panoramic rail network. While filming Roger Federer and American animator Trevor Noah on board the GoldenPass Express, the organization had no idea that this line which connects Montreux (VD) to Interlaken (BE) would be interrupted when the spot came out (read below).
Nothing to give up
A quack that has never called into question the video’s broadcast schedule. The US TV star also teased the poster on her Instagram account on Monday and generated 90,000 likes. “Pushing back our campaign was not even a topic of discussion, sweeps Véronique Kanel, spokesperson at Switzerland Tourism. This is about train travel in Switzerland in general and is aimed at a mainly foreign public. We needed an iconic panoramic line, and the fact that there is currently a technical problem on this one does not change the essence of our message. The journey time is not the same, but that does not detract from the beauty of the landscape and the comfort of the train.
Technical glitch
Inaugurated in December, the direct link between Montreux and Interlaken ran for only three months before being shut down. In question: a problem related to the technique allowing to modify the spacing of the wheels in motion. Indeed, the track gap changes after Zweisimmen (BE). As a result, travelers are currently forced to change trains and end the journey with the Berne-Lötschberg-Simplon (BLS) company.
The cost of the campaign was not disclosed. As for the duration of the breakdown affecting the GoldenPass Express, it remains unknown. “We are working with the BLS so that customers can get the full experience as quickly as possible,” notes the spokesperson for the line affected.