Slightly different slant on this thread: the Qantas ads have intrigued me recently with regards to the message they send, compared with some of the outcomes Qantas wants to achieve. The message the ads send is one of: stirring patriotism, travelling the world but also flying home using an Australian icon. However that is really at odds with management's desire to (a) offshore the workforce and (b) lift the foreign ownership cap.
By running such ads just strengthens Australians' "ownership" of the company. They do not want to see the icon de-Australianised. It makes it harder to smoothly move the workforce offshore. The average Aussie does NOT want to see Qantas 100% foreign-owned, so such ads actually make it harder to get pollies to lift the foreign ownership cap (because the pollies know there would be an electoral backlash).
So... are these ads REALLY that successful, in terms of achieving the company's deisired outcomes? Yes and no. Yes: keeps Aussies flying Australian, but maybe no: for the reasons above.
Just some thoughts.