Budget airline advert turns former soap star into global online sensation
Source: TikTok/AlfredLOC
A low-cost holiday advert and a 10-year-old pop hit have combined to make former soapie star Zoe Lister one of the most recognisable voices on social media.
Lister starred in British soap opera Hollyoaks from 2006 to 2010, but it’s her voiceover work for British budget airline Jet2 that is making her a global online sensation.
The voice actor’s “nothing beats a Jet2 holiday” audio, which is accompanied by Jess Glynne’s 2015 single Hold My Hand, is one of this year’s most celebrated memes and has been used in more than 1.2 million TikTok videos to date.
The audio is usually ironically played over videos of unpleasant holiday occurrences or other “fails” – from catastrophic weather at picture-perfect resorts to passengers misbehaving on flights.
So popular is the meme that DJ’s have introduced the audio grab into their lineups and social media users post videos challenging strangers to complete the line from the advert – most manage to do it.
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And searches for Jet2 holidays have also spiked in the past month, according to Google trends.
The original Jet2 ad, which first appeared on the company’s YouTube page last year, shows a family of four as they catch a Jet2 plane to their beachside holiday.
Lister, who introduced herself as the actor behind the audio in a TikTok video earlier this month, said it had been especially interesting to see the soundbite pick up in the United States.
@zlister1 @jet2 only fly within Europe but we’ve gone global babes. Thought I’d say hello so you can put a very overwhelmed face to the NOTHING BEATS A JET2 HOLIDAY voice! Hello. #jet2 #jet2holidays #viral #voiceover #comedy #jessglynne #darlingholdmyhand #zlister ♬ original sound - Zoë Lister
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“They don’t even know what a Jet2 holiday is,” she joked in an interview with US broadcaster NBC.
“They don’t have holidays, they have vacations. Holidays are like Christmas, right? But they have got so on board with the joyful silliness of it.
“Going viral for something just that is really funny and joyful … that’s quite a wonderful experience,” she added.
One of the first videos to use the audio and attract millions of views was from a user who uploaded footage of what appears to be a camel attacking the person. Since first being posted on TikTok last November, the video has amassed more 3.8 million views.
Jet2 picked up on the popularity of the audio this year, offering a giveaway for people who uploaded videos as part of the trend.
As for Glynne, the singer is bemused by the phenomenon, but was happy to play along when she met Lister on-air last week.
The two met during a UK Capital FM radio appearance in London on Tuesday, which Lister described as a “wild” moment in her life.
It also involved Glynne reciting the Jet2 line.
