Roger Federer, brand ambassador for Switzerland Tourism ST, has once again shown his sense of humour in the second ST short film. Together with Oscar winner Anne Hathaway, he promoted the Grand Tour of Switzerland. In the film, titled “No one upstages the Grand Tour of Switzerland”, the tennis maestro and the Hollywood actress went on an extensive road trip through Switzerland. For the filming, among other things, they crossed a glacier 22 times, practised synchronised swimming in an ice-cold mountain lake and drove over the Furka Pass, only to realise disillusioned in the film studio at the end that they were hardly recognisable in the finished film. The beauty of the Grand Tour of Switzerland had eclipsed both of them and turned them into supporting actors. Thus, after his first attempt with Robert De Niro, Federer has once again failed to become the star of a film about Swiss tourism. That’s the story behind the 2022 commercial. The “Behind the scenes” footage shows how well Hathaway and Federer got along while filming.

ST wins second place in the “YouTube Ads Leaderboard”
The first film with Federer went viral, so expectations here were high as a result. ST and Federer did not disappoint: With more than 102 million views on YouTube in its first month, the road trip short film significantly surpassed its predecessor (53 million views by October 2022). Media around the world – such as the German daily newspaper Die Zeit, the US business magazine Forbes and the travel platforms Time Out and Travel Weekly – showed the short film and helped the new campaign featuring Federer to generate more than 295 million media contacts.

In addition, Federer and Hathaway’s humorous performance was named the second most popular commercial worldwide in 2022 by the “YouTube Ads Leaderboard,” just behind Samsung and ahead of Omega, Amazon, Netflix and Apple.

Each year, streaming platform YouTube presents this ranking of the most popular commercials over the past twelve months as part of the international creativity festival Cannes Lions. The festival is one of the most prestigious events in the advertising industry.

Show comments: Short film inspires holidays in Switzerland
The numerous positive comments on YouTube showed not only that the two stars had struck a chord with the audience, but also that the spectacular panoramic shots of the Grand Tour of Switzerland have succeeded in inspiring a trip to Switzerland. Comments include: “This low-key makes me want to visit Switzerland” or “What a great ad! Congrats, I really want to visit Switzerland.”