Translated material
The meme brought the airline a billion dollars
An advertisement for Jet2holidays with the words “Nothing beats a Jet2holidays” went viral on TikTok in the summer of 2025. People laughed at a silly video about a pleasant vacation and posted videos with the opposite idea: their boat capsizing or a monkey on the beach stealing sunglasses. However, unsuccessful advertising became “marketing gold” for the company. Details are in the material “Cold” .
They made fun of her on social networks, but it only benefited her 
Jet2holidays is Britain's largest package tour operator, a subsidiary of Jet2 plc. It also owns the low-cost airline Jet2.com, a low-cost carrier that is known to many in the UK and almost no one outside of it. Jet2.com planes fly from the UK to warm European countries: Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, as well as Austria and France. Jet2holidays advertising was simple, budget-friendly and not too trendy - the authors hoped to reach ordinary vacationers.
@abdullahtravels72 The road to fairy meadows! One of the most beautiful places in the world ⛰️🐎 #jet2holidays #mountains #dangerous #fairymeadows #roadtrip ♬ Jet2 Advert — ✈️A7-BBH | MAN 🇬🇧
To begin with, the authors of the jingle superimposed the company slogan “Nothing beats a Jet2holidays” on the 2015 hit “Hold my hand” by British pop singer Jess Glynne. The company published the finished jingle in December 2022 in order to further advertise seasonal discounts with it. The video on the Jet2.com YouTube channel then received about 200 thousand views.
In January 2024, Jet2holidays again published a video with regular discounts, and the jingle suddenly caught the fancy of social media users, who turned it into a meme. This video already has nine million views and is the most popular on the Jet2.com channel. And to this sound, people began to show footage from trips during which something went wrong. Now with the jingle “Nothing beats a Jet2holidays” you can find more than three million videos on TikTok. Some of them receive tens of millions of views.
In April 2025, the company reminded users about the meme: videos began to appear on its social networks in which airline employees , flight attendants and pilots dance and lip-sync to the words of the jingle. The caption under the video invited users to post videos under the hashtag #Jet2Challenge - the author of the best video was promised a coupon for 1000 pounds (approximately 104 thousand rubles at the beginning of February 2025).
The new trend did not go unnoticed even in the White House. On the official pages of the US presidential administration on X and Instagram, a video appeared in which US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers lead detainees to a plane for deportation - of course, to the sound of “Nothing beats a Jet2holidays”. The video caused disapproval on social networks. Singer Jess Glynne even reposted it on her story and wrote: “Honestly, this post makes me sick . My music is about love, unity and spreading positivity - not division or hatred."
## "Marketing Gold"
The jingle had every chance of going viral, says Hannah Bennett, head of tourism and international business at TikTok. “An instantly recognizable sound, a trend everyone can get behind, classic British humor and a dash of summer nostalgia,” she explained .
According to travel brand strategist Catherine Worrilow, the trend has helped Jet2 connect with zoomers. She called this case “marketing gold” because the trend coincided with a period when travelers became disillusioned with other low-cost airlines (for example, Ryanair, which introduced restrictions on free baggage allowance).
The airline has also noticed the growing popularity of the brand. In a recent financial report, Jet2 plc noted that “unprecedented activity has resulted in increased marketing reach and increased awareness of our brand among young people.”
As a result, from April to September 2025, the company served almost 14.1 million passengers, which is 750 thousand more than in the same period last year. Revenue for the period grew 5% to £5.34 billion (approximately $ 7.25 billion at the start of February 2025). Profits were also higher: £800 million before tax (almost $ 1.1 billion), up 1% on the same period last year.
Over the past year, the number of subscribers to the myJet2 loyalty program, whose users can buy discounted air tickets and tours, has grown by 62% and already exceeds 8.4 million people.
The company will fly to 29 destinations from London Gatwick Airport from March 2026 and aims to attract up to 15 million new customers. Since 2025, it has also had operating bases at Bournemouth and Luton airports (Jet2.com's home base is Leeds Bradford).
At the same time, it is difficult to assess how much the popularity of the company was influenced by the viral jingle. For example, low prices could trigger sales growth: the average cost of a package tour at Jet2holidays increased in 2025 by only 3% compared to the previous year.
Author: Daria Voloshina
Photo: Alamy