The Flight
of Light

The Flight of Light is a sponsorship activation for Emirates and Benfica, ideation and art direction by Paulo Mariano at O Escritório. Built on the idea All Aboard, the activation offered fans a trip to Dubai through a game played inside the stadium during a Benfica match at Estádio da Luz. A week before the game, fans were invited through Benfica's social media to sign up for a surprise Emirates challenge, and twenty were selected. On match day, an Emirates check-in stand, Welcome to Dubai, was set up outside the stadium, where cabin crew recreated the check-in moment of a real flight. At half-time, the hostesses entered the pitch and invited the twenty contestants to board an Emirates plane and stay onboard until it reached its destination. The stadium lights were dimmed and a plane made of light was projected onto the grass. As the plane of light began to move across the pitch, gradually increasing its speed and making tighter turns, contestants had to keep up and stay within its outline, until only the winners remained inside the borders. The plane reached the centre of the field, where the cabin crew handed the tickets to the winners. An integrated sponsorship and brand activation with art direction and ideation by Paulo Mariano, turning an airline sponsorship into a live stadium experience for fans.