A new innovation from McCann London and Cheapflights makes it easier to find a cheap escape

Apr. 25, 2017

Launching in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and South Africa, EscEscape is a free-to-install extension for Google Chrome users. While consumers increasingly research holidays on their mobiles and tablets, more holidays are now booked on impulse and Mintel research shows that 74% of people still do so on a computer or laptop. Research from Cheapflights itself also shows that over 50% of people search flights when at work.

The new EscEscape extension means that when a user taps their keyboard ‘Esc’ key twice, a live flight search runs to find the cheapest, quickest and smartest return flights to nearby destinations. The flight results open in a new browser tab and will be the cheapest option for a weekend break in the next eight weeks. The user is then free to go ahead and book if they like the look of what they see – if not, another ‘double tap’ of the Esc key throws up a new option.

To promote the innovative tool, McCann London and Cheapflights are using unusual Taiwanese-style animation known to be used for news report reconstruction in their latest campaign. The online film, shows a hard-pressed office worker returning to work on a miserable day to be faced by the misery of dealing with countless emails and an overbearing boss. A series of print will also support the launch. The campaign will run for two months from 21^st April.

The original concept, extension and campaign were created by McCann London.

Laurence Thomson, CCO and President of McCann London said:

“Whilst teleportation remains fantasy we’ve made escapism a reality with the new EscEscape Cheapfilghts browser extension. Bored at your desk by a multitude of mundanity? EscEscape takes you to the lowest priced, random travel destination, a bit like Diceman for travel, have a go it’s awesome.”

Andrew Shelton, Cheapflights’ Managing Director, added:

“We can spend hours every day tapping away at a keyboard, dealing with dozens of unread emails, thinking its Thursday when it’s only Tuesday,” “It’s time for people to rediscover ‘Esc’ key, and make it their shortcut to escaping for real - double tap quick. With EscEscape, we’ve made that much easier to do. We want this neglected keyboard function to become the biggest and most important key people tap each day.”