Away's New Luggage Line Goes Soft

Away luggage is going soft, with a new Softside line of suitcases, ranging from $225 to $325.

A :30 spot, directed by Christelle de Castro, stars some familiar NYC faces. These include Alan Ruck of Succession; comedians Megan Stalter and Ben Marshall; skateboarder Tyshawn Jones; New York Magazine art critic Jerry Staltz; plus Aminatou Sow, Cleo Wade, Dan Pelosi, Gus Heagerty, Jenny Walton and Tyler Joe.

We all have our last-minute quirks when standing in line at the airport. Viewers follow these famous travelers and how they pass that (often insufferable) time.

“We know that over 50 percent of luggage sales in the U.S. are softside, with over 90 million U.S travelers using softside luggage exclusively,” says Amanda Brody, VP of brand at Away. “Softside is designed to endure all the rigors of travel. We’re introducing new features specific to the Softside traveler based on what they’re looking for: a top flap opening with interior organization that opens to a spacious main compartment, two no-show exterior pockets to access belongings easily, a proprietary stabilizer to keep the suitcase from tipping over when expanded as well as a matching TSA-accepted padlock.”

The campaign, created with Kapono Chung, founder/partner at Combo, includes OOH takeovers in major hubs like NYC’s Penn Station, along with influencer and social media efforts featuring creators’ travel-confession interviews. 

“It pays homage to the very first campaign/travel book we did with Away that involved influencers from around the world,” Chung tells Muse. “The Softside feels like part two of this concept but flipped on its head—the community in turn loving the people for who they are. These are people who embrace their quirkiness unapologetically.”

“BTS, we found out that Alan Ruck was a huge fan of Away. He and his family have seven Away suitcases! I was totally fan-boying Alan, because Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was every kid’s dream and, of course, who doesn’t love Connor in Succession?”