Eleanor LNER Doll

[mpthomson]

I assume it was aimed at a narrow ground of well off retired or near retired people, which is a tiny subsection of the people who will potentially use LNER though.

Cunard mostly advertise on daytime television such as ITV3 that has a more mature (and as you identify, often wealthy) audience, normally next to adverts for walk in baths and the RSPCA. Viking river cruises and Hertigruten go after similar markets.

 

[Dave W]

Cunard mostly advertise on daytime television such as ITV3 that has a more mature (and as you identify, often wealthy) audience, normally next to adverts for walk in baths and the RSPCA. Viking river cruises and Hertigruten go after similar markets.

I'm 37.

I'm not old, I'm 37.

... Point taken though. I'm not rich either!

 

[D1511]

I think the only thing I don't get about the campaign is it is quite whimsical and funky - two things I don't personally associate with the LNER experience. I've always thought the brand was arbitrary and conservative.

I've always thought the same about LNER, so one of the objectives of the campaign might be to address that perception by using Eleanor.
"Hey dudes, we're not a bunch of stuffed shirts with lots of officious announcements and a fare structure that's as inscrutable as it is expensive, were actually dead cool and chilled really.....just check out Eleanor....she's zany with big hair and we're even cool with her being loud and clambering over our seats"
Or, perhaps the purpose is to sell some tickets to the sorts of people who wouldn't dream of viewing a forum like this.....

 

[mpthomson]

I'm 37.

I'm not old, I'm 37.

... Point taken though. I'm not rich either!

I’m quite a bit younger than the target demographic as well but still watch ITV3 occasionally!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Feb 2026 ==

I've always thought the same about LNER, so one of the objectives of the campaign might be to address that perception by using Eleanor.
"Hey dudes, we're not a bunch of stuffed shirts with lots of officious announcements and a fare structure that's as inscrutable as it is expensive, were actually dead cool and chilled really.....just check out Eleanor....she's zany with big hair and we're even cool with her being loud and clambering over our seats"
Or, perhaps the purpose is to sell some tickets to the sorts of people who wouldn't dream of viewing a forum like this.....

Your last paragraph is correct

 

[Starmill]

I'd argue that's not completely true. There are numerous tickets which can only be bought online.

Occasionally so but the vast majority of the time you can pay cash. If anyone has a specific ticket they want but can't get they can always ask here.

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

I've always thought the same about LNER, so one of the objectives of the campaign might be to address that perception by using Eleanor.
"Hey dudes, we're not a bunch of stuffed shirts with lots of officious announcements and a fare structure that's as inscrutable as it is expensive, were actually dead cool and chilled really.....just check out Eleanor....she's zany with big hair and we're even cool with her being loud and clambering over our seats"
Or, perhaps the purpose is to sell some tickets to the sorts of people who wouldn't dream of viewing a forum like this.....

The last paragraph is definitely correct!
I don't reckon the theory is that deep. The idea is you look up... there's a "distinctive" looking puppet... you think "what's this an advert for?"... and the LNER logo appears.
At some later point you require some train tickets and/or times, you try to recall a company name or website. Then you remember; the puppet....who was it again...oh, LNER!
Puppet...LNER...done!

 

[mpthomson]

The last paragraph is definitely correct!
I don't reckon the theory is that deep. The idea is you look up... there's a "distinctive" looking puppet... you think "what's this an advert for?"... and the LNER logo appears.
At some later point you require some train tickets and/or times, you try to recall a company name or website. Then you remember; the puppet....who was it again...oh, LNER!
Puppet...LNER...done!

As I've repeated many times, advertising is extremely sophisticated nowadays (especially when the campaign is being run by a company like Saatchi's, as this is) for larger commercial organisations and driven by data and metrics. Adverts like this are aimed at specific groups of people in specific timeslots and by specific routes eg social media, tv etc. The days of just thinking 'I know, let's have a puppet' are long gone.

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

As I've repeated many times, advertising is extremely sophisticated nowadays (especially when the campaign is being run by a company like Saatchi's, as this is) for larger commercial organisations and driven by data and metrics. Adverts like this are aimed at specific groups of people in specific timeslots and by specific routes eg social media, tv etc. The days of just thinking 'I know, let's have a puppet' are long gone.

I'm not belittling the process that led to the advert, or the amount of data that was analysed during its conception.
But regardless of which audience demographic it's aimed at and which channel it is delivered by, it does largely work on the distinctive puppet/LNER basis.
I really do think that people are overanalysing it!

 

[mpthomson]

I'm not belittling the process that led to the advert, or the amount of data that was analysed during its conception.
But regardless of which audience demographic it's aimed at and which channel it is delivered by, it does largely work on the distinctive puppet/LNER basis.
I really do think that people are overanalysing it!

No over-analysis, just explaining the process by which these ads come into being and how their performance is monitored. How it works is more complex than that, this ad is full of small subliminal things as well as the obvious.

 

[Tetragon213]

Seeing as we're all talking about the Eleaner/LNER advertising campaign, you can't argue it didn't do it's job!

Any publicity's good publicity...

 

[AdamWW]

Any publicity's good publicity...

Perhaps it's a myth but I thought that Gerald Ratner discovered the limits of that principle.

The last paragraph is definitely correct!
I don't reckon the theory is that deep. The idea is you look up... there's a "distinctive" looking puppet... you think "what's this an advert for?"... and the LNER logo appears.
At some later point you require some train tickets and/or times, you try to recall a company name or website. Then you remember; the puppet....who was it again...oh, LNER!
Puppet...LNER...done!

Unless people remember the disctinctive bit but forget the company name.

And if aim is not to get people to travel on LNER but to buy their train tickets from them rather than another company, this doesn't seem particularly appropriate given the current structure of the railways.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Perhaps it's a myth but I thought that Gerald Ratner discovered the limits of that principle.



Unless people remember the disctinctive bit but forget the company name.

And if aim is not to get people to travel on LNER but to buy their train tickets from them rather than another company, this doesn't seem particularly appropriate given the current structure of the railways.

If you remember her name you remember the company name

 

[AdamWW]

If you remember her name you remember the company name

Maybe I'm the only person not to have thought long enough about the name to realise the significance.

More obvious when heard than when seen written down, I think.

Is the name prominently mentioned in the TV adverts?

 

[Krokodil]

Maybe I'm the only person not to have thought long enough about the name to realise the significance.

More obvious when heard than when seen written down, I think.

Is the name prominently mentioned in the TV adverts?

You're definitely not alone, it's a bit of a stretch.

 

[mpthomson]

Maybe I'm the only person not to have thought long enough about the name to realise the significance.

More obvious when heard than when seen written down, I think.

Is the name prominently mentioned in the TV adverts?

You're definitely not alone, it's a bit of a stretch.

The name isn't mentioned at all in the ads (just as Gio Comparo isn't in the Go Compare ads) so it does require someone to know that the character is called Eleanor.

It's fairly straightforward once you do know that, but it's not something given to you in the ads.

 

[sheff1]

The name isn't mentioned at all in the ads (just as Gio Comparo isn't in the Go Compare ads) so it does require someone to know that the character is called Eleanor.

It's fairly straightforward once you do know that, but it's not something given to you in the ads.

So, futher to the claims above, do people really see the advert (or any other advert) and then actively search to find out the name of the character in it ?

 

[mpthomson]

So, futher to the claims above, do people really see the advert (or any other advert) and then actively search to find out the name of the character in it ?

It’s fairly well known that the puppet is called Eleanor so they must do. The name appears on the LNER website and in many other places that younger people than most of us on here use for social media access.

 

[800001]

It’s fairly well known that these puppet is called Eleanor so…

Not if you watch just the advert......

 

[AlterEgo]

I don't think most viewers of the advert would know the puppet's name. I don't think her name is that important to the campaign.

 

[mpthomson]

Not if you watch just the advert......

I even said that just before. I was responding to a specific question that appears just above my post. A good chunk of people know that the puppet is called Eleanor (my mid teenage daughters do) meaning that they must have done some research into it. Just the same as there’s a good number of people who know that Wyn Jones character in the Go Compare adverts was called Gio Comparo. Neither are mentioned in the adverts themselves.

 

[WillC]

And yet passengers numbers continue to rise and continue to be massively above what they were in the 80’s and 90’s (when there were simpler fares) so it really can’t be as awful as all that.

You think? Or just that (increasing numbers of) people have no choice - roads are terribly congested, but at least you don’t have to fight for a seat, share with selfish folk using speakers, or have to pay silly amounts for overly complex tickets.

 

[mpthomson]

You think? Or just that (increasing numbers of) people have no choice - roads are terribly congested, but at least you don’t have to fight for a seat, share with selfish folk using speakers, or have to pay silly amounts for overly complex tickets.

Everyone has a choice… more people are choosing to use trains.

 

[WillC]

Everyone has a choice… more people are choosing to use trains.

The second part of that statement is true; I would question the first part.

 

[Farigiraf]

And yet passengers numbers continue to rise and continue to be massively above what they were in the 80’s and 90’s (when there were simpler fares) so it really can’t be as awful as all that.

Because it's a capacity constrained railway with serious suppressed demand - there are more people wanting to use LNER than there is space on the trains for. Partially the reason why they can get away with price hikes.

 

[Davester50]

I've no problem with the adverts.

I do wonder though why we have so many separate advert campaigns, as if GBR wasn't happening. Surely we should now be getting more general advertising for ALL long distance travel, rather than separate ones for LNER, Avanti, GWR etc.

The rehashed 2015 Travelodge / 2003 Avenue Q puppet is much inferior to the Nothing beats being there National Rail advert.
And the National Rail advert is all the re-nationalised TOCs should be using now, not their own, IMHO.

 

[cuccir]

In the most recent advert I've seen, she suddenly talks! The whole thing makes a lot more sense if they're trying to build up the character a bit more over time, it offsets the initial criticsm that there wasn't much point to her, and it also means that her having a name might start to be more relevant and therefore useful to the comapny

 

[StephenHunter]

I'm 37.

I'm not old, I'm 37.

... Point taken though. I'm not rich either!

You've just reminded me that I need to book my eye test...

 

[Cowley]

We think that’ll probably do us for this thread.

Thanks everyone