Balance - fair enough. I don't think the ad worked either, it was a good effort that didn't succeed.
I wonder if they have a new marketing manager at Qantas? One of the banes of my life used to be whenever a new one popped along because that always meant they'd change perfectly good stuff just to make their "imprint".
Clear examples are the "rebranding" exercises that were all the rage a few years back. After claiming the need to refresh and reinvent the company in order to reinvigorate it the marketers rushed around spending shedloads of cash. The usual result was confusion. From memory Lee Iococca got it right (IMO) when he said "we've spent 50 years building this brand and you just want to throw that away" or words to that effect.
To me that's what Qantas have done with this campaign. They're looking to make a break with the past, they want to move with their customers but they didn't quite hit it. The Schoolkids choir became an icon, for all his commercial success the new one is just insipid and doesn't stand out from the pack, there is no "cut through".
For much of the rest I guess we agree to disagree, I certainly accept you were engaged by the American style ad but that's because you see yourself as one of them, you are the insider. And with the exception of immediately post 9/11 that's where that type d thing belongs - internal feelgood promos. The general public doesn't care about any of that, they care about what you will do for them and how you will make them feel.
Either way I suspect the new Qantas ads will be refreshed in 12-18 months or so. Unlike a relatively anonymous choir a solo artist or readily identifiable group has a much shorter shelf life as brand representative before they get stale. Children never wear out, you just need new footage every couple of years and you're done.