Yup, I,too . cringed at the syrupy,smug, self-congratulatory tone of this advert.
Perhaps the "to serve" element was to invoke memories of Tim Henman ?,,,, Lots of tantalising promise but always failed to live up to the expectations we'd been. promised
I'm sure many younger viewers will wrongly confuse the grounding of Concorde with the disastrous French crash.....I must agree with Sunnyjohn.....this is another "Strand " advert in the making.
the cash could have been better used in improving morale/service.
(for the youngsters," You're never alone with a Strand" was the strapline of a cigarette advert that showed a quiet, meditative gentleman strolling through a deserted London, smoking his favourite gasper.
Leastwise, that was the adman's view
The punters saw a sad lonely old git who was given a wide berth by all ,and only had these fags for company. moral.....smoke this brand and you'll be on your tod!
the brand collapsed and was a textbook case on how NOT to market a product.