BUS ÉIREANN’S red setter is one of Irish advertising’s most enduring images – for decades it romped through various ad campaigns – so no surprise then that the company would endeavour to include it in its new “Fly Expressway” campaign.

The idea, developed by Strategem iLabs in association with freelance creative director Tom Kelly and produced by Red Rage Films, is that taking a trip on the new fleet of intercity buses is like travelling in the good old days of air travel.

From the opening shot of the TV ad, it is not clear whether the woman is getting on a bus or a plane. The red setter appears fleetingly on screen when she turns on her iPad – which is as much about telling us that there’s wifi on board as a nod to the advertising heritage.

The campaign represents a return to TV for the company because, according to Bus Éireann’s Andrew McLindon, new lower production costs as well as more attractive airtime costs made it possible.

The ad was shot in a single day, mostly on location in the company’s Broadstone depot in Dublin, with production costs coming in shy of €80,000.