Jet2’s Viral Moment Gone to Waste
It’s summer, and vacations are in full swing. And vacations come with mishaps. And since it’s 2025, those mishaps are often caught on camera.
Enter one of this summer’s hottest viral social trends: a collection of travel fails set to the unmistakable bounce of Jess Glynn’s “Hold My Hand.” The footage? Wipeouts, flailing pool dives, broken luggage, animal encounters gone wrong—every travel misadventure you can imagine.
And over it all, a voice promises, “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday, and now you can save 50 pounds per person!”
If you’re American, the name Jet2 may not be familiar. The UK-based budget airline and travel company released their original commercial using the song back in 2022, but it’s become this summer’s soundtrack to vacation chaos. More than a million TikToks now pair the ad’s voiceover with travel calamity.
Even Jess Glynn herself—who originally released the song in 2015—has joked about the use of her song, sharing an Instagram post poking fun at the commercial.
At her recent concert, fans shouted the Jet2 line mid-song, bringing meme culture into the real world.
But here’s the womp womp of it all for marketers: Jet2 isn’t doing much with the moment.
Aside from a single TikTok of employees lip-syncing to the audio, the brand has gone largely silent. No comment. No campaign. No capitalizing on what could be one of the most organic brand moments of the year.
Why?
We get it. The trend is rooted in vacation fails. Not exactly the association you want for a travel company. But here’s where Jet2 could have owned the narrative.
They could’ve flipped the script—offering to rescue vacationers from disaster with a real Jet2 experience.
They could’ve, for instance, launched a contest: post your worst vacation flop using the sound, and win a Jet2 do-over. They could’ve leaned into the culture and acknowledged the humor.
Or they could reach out to some of the more viral video posters and offered a credit in exchange for some Jet2 travel content.
Instead, they’ve largely let the crowd run with it. No brand voice. No storytelling.
What stops brands from making a move when opportunity knocks?
Red tape. Creative teams might have ideas, but they’re buried under layers of approvals that stall momentum.
Risk aversion. Leaders fear the association with failure—missing the chance to own the narrative.
Culture of stagnation. Companies accustomed to playing it safe rarely rise to moments that require quick, clever pivots.
Bandwidth. The team may be small, but when something hits this hard, it’s worth rearranging priorities.
To be fair, Jet2 still has time. The trend hasn’t died – yet. But if they wait too long, the moment will pass them by. We’ll keep you posted on any additional response!