You Can't View This YouTube Content But You Can Fly to France for 79 Euros

Here's an intriguing use of YouTube. In an effort to promote their flights to France to French-speaking Belgians, Brussels Airlines, with help from BBDO Belgium, used blocked content videos to achieve this goal.

As background, 40% of French speaking Belgians watch TV programs that are broadcast in France rather than those broadcast in Belgium. When a viewer misses an episode of his favorite TV program, it can be watched later online. Great. But only if you live in France. Belgians see "This content is not available in your country."

Brussels Airlines leveraged that situation and used these blocked content videos as their medium. They told the Belgians to "Go where this content is available. Fly to France."

When they clicked through the Belgians could directly book their flight. The blocked content banners achieved a click through rate of 14.58% which hasn't been the norm since 1994.