This KLM ad has a story that soars—but could it fly higher?

KLM’s advertising always aims to show that flying with them is about more than just getting from A to B—it’s about comfort, connection, and the moments that matter.

Their ad, “A Life’s Journey,” taps into these emotions, telling a heartfelt story about travel, love, and family.

But the real questions are: does it effectively communicate the brand’s message, and how well does it perform compared to other ads? 

We put it to the test with a sample from the general Dutch population, as KLM is targeting a wide audience with its awareness campaign.

Evaluating KLM’s “A Life’s Journey” ad

We used Behavio’s ad testing platform to see how well this ad performed across three crucial areas: branding, emotional impact, and consumer need recognition. 

The results show a compelling ad with strong emotional appeal but some areas that could be fine-tuned for even greater impact.

Let’s break it down.

Branding

KLM’s brand recognition in this ad is strong. 79% of viewers correctly linked the ad to the brand, significantly outperforming the industry average of 53%.

In the first five seconds, 67% of viewers recognized the brand—another strong result compared to the 49% average.

But there is one challenge: during key emotional moments, branding recognition dipped slightly. 

The audience was so engaged in the story that the brand took a backseat. Weaving KLM’s branding more naturally into the high-emotion scenes—maybe through iconic elements like a uniform, a ticket, or an unmistakable in-flight moment—could help maintain brand visibility without disrupting the story.

Need

A great ad not only tells a story but also builds strong memory links between the brand and a consumer need. For an airline, that means ensuring viewers recognize the category and understand why they should choose this specific brand.

And KLM nailed this: 71% of viewers associated its ad with the airline industry, significantly above the 56% average.

Messaging

Message recall for specific brand values like “trusted partner” and “connecting you to new experiences” was lower than expected, at 45% and 44% respectively, compared to a 56% benchmark.

To make these messages stick, KLM could emphasize them more clearly, whether through narration, on-screen text, or visual cues that reinforce trust and discovery.

Emotion

One thing is clear—viewers responded very positively to this ad. 80% of the audience reacted positively, ranking the ad’s emotional appeal in the top 1% of tested ads!

Words like love, happiness, romantic, and cheerful came up again and again, showing just how deeply the storytelling resonated. The family and wedding moments especially stood out, with many describing the ad as heartwarming and joyful. 

Pairing these powerful emotional moments with strong brand assets could take this ad from great to exceptional.

Final thoughts

KLM’s "A Life’s Journey" ad is definitely a winner—it outperforms 95% of all tested ads!

Overall, this campaign is a huge success in driving positive sentiment and branding. With slight adjustments to message clarity and brand reinforcement, it could be even more effective.

Key wins:

✅ Outstanding emotional engagement
✅ Strong brand recognition
✅ Clear connection to customer need
✅ Highly distinctive and easy to understand

Opportunities to improve:

⚡ Reinforce branding throughout the ad, especially during emotional peaks
⚡ Make the connection between KLM and "new experiences" more explicit
⚡ Strengthen key message recall for "trusted partner"

Want to dive deeper into the results? You can see the full report on Behavio’s platform.