Back in the run up to Christmas 2013, Canadian airline WestJet did something pretty special, which they turned into an excellent piece of content. If you didn't see that then, you can check it out here.
Now they've followed it up with yet another wonderful illustration of their commitment to customer service, timed for maximum impact around Father's Day. But whereas the Christmas stunt was clever and warm-hearted, this story is so clever and so warm-hearted that it could melt your tear-ducts into a leaky mess. The idea here is to unite a family. The young son has a congenital heart condition which can only be treated in Edmonton. Dad has to work 300 miles away in Saskatoon (me neither, but it's big enough for an international airport, not like those small town hicks down in Moose Jaw, huh?). So WestJet, being an airline, naturally provide the travel.
But more importantly they also provide the time for dad to visit son and mum - by training a WestJet employee to cover his job for a week. The touching story is told through two formats, a very watchable narrative documentary and a video diary from Medel, the WestJet employee covering the father's job. It's a lovely idea and it's a really great execution too. WestJet have taken everything that TV does so well in shows with moments of real transformation (think Extreme Makeover Home Edition, DIY SOS, even Surprise Surprise) and condensed it beautifully into short-form content with big emotional impact.