Cruising at 42,000 feet: Penelope Cruz is the new face of Emirates airline

Emirates airline has signed Hollywood actress Penelope Cruz as the new face of its global advertising campaign.

The Vicky Cristina Barcelona Oscar-winner is to help showcase the UAE airline in a campaign being launched in June.

Airing in English and in Cruz's native Spanish, the campaign shows the actress sampling luxuries that are exclusive to Emirates' first and business-class passengers, such as the A380 onboard lounge, and the in-flight shower.

“From one hotel room, to another one,” says Cruz as she settles into one of Emirates' “game-changing” first-class suites.

Encouraging passengers to “fly better” by choosing Emirates, the Volver star also enjoys travelling in Emirates' new Premium Economy class cabins, chats to the cabin crew in several languages and watches a live-action football game screened on Emirates' in-flight live TV.

The campaign will also show Cruz settling in for a siesta on a lie-flat bed, wearing the Emirates' "hydra-active moisturising pyjamas" that are given to premium travellers.

“I’m thrilled to partner with Emirates after years of travelling with them on some of the most special trips in my life,” said Cruz.

“Emirates is all about Flying Better, where the journey to your destination matters as much as the place itself," said Richard Billington, senior vice president of brand and advertising at the airline.

"We take care of every detail in the Emirates experience and wanted a brand ambassador who reflects the Emirates brand – it needed to be someone classy, stylish, and having modern global appeal. Penelope was the perfect fit.”

Penelope Cruz onboard an Emirates A380 superjumbo. Photo: Emirates

The new campaign is the work of Robert Stromberg, a double Oscar-winning Hollywood director and visual effects specialist, whose credits include James Cameron's Avatar and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.

Cruz takes over the reins as Emirates' newest ambassador from Gerry the Goose who also chose to “fly better” by ditching his migratory flock and travelling with the Dubai airline. The feathery star was voiced by British actor Michael Cronin doing his best Sir David Attenborough imitation.

She joins other Hollywood stars including Jennifer Anniston and Chris Hemsworth as the face of the airline.

Cruz has visited Dubai at least three times, most recently for Chanel’s cruise 2021/22 replica show, when she also appeared on the cover of Vogue Arabia.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”