Our regular feature, brought to you in association with Strange Nature Gin from New Zealand, celebrates memorable scenes, moments, launches and campaigns related to the global aviation and travel retail sphere.
HONG KONG, CHINA. I snapped today’s images on my iPhone while airside at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) yesterday en route to a media tour of the new Kyra Lounge run by Airport Dimensions, SSP Group and Travel Food Services (look out for my report later today), writes Martin Moodie.
I chose them because they remind us, firstly, of the vital role an airport can play in championing a country’s culture and secondly of the often dramatic impact of airport advertising.
Our first images show an installation themed ‘A Path to Glory – Jin Yong’s Centennial Memorial’, part of a six-month celebration of the works of Chinese literary giant Jin Yong (Dr Louis Cha), involving collaborations with HKIA, tourist attractions and cultural landmarks.
2024 marks the centenary of his birth. “Wherever there are Chinese people, Jin Yong’s world of ‘wuxia’ can be found,” runs a popular adage.
Over his lifetime, Jin Yong wrote 15 martial arts novels and shaped over 1,400 characters. His works have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and been translated into 14 languages.
The event’s theme is taken from a message Guo Jing delivered to Yang Guo in The Giant Eagle and its Companion – “To serve is a path to glory.”
Ten replications of Jin Yong’s most renowned characters, created by renowned sculptor Ren Zhe, are being shown during the touring exhibition. They include the HKIA piece pictured here featuring Guo Jing, the male protagonist in The Eagle-shooting Heroes and an important character in The Giant Eagle and its Companion.
Towering Tom Hardy
My second selection shows a striking advertising installation dedicated to Jo Malone London’s Cypress & Grapevine Cologne Intense fragrance.
As reported, the campaign from The Estée Lauder Companies-owned niche fragrance house features British actor and producer Tom Hardy as its ambassador.
The towering HKIA visual brings that campaign to life, simultaneously making a powerful brand statement and underlining the unique influence of airport advertising, reaching as it does a constantly changing, cross-cultural audience every day. ✈
