Team GB: The next generation

For The Times and Wall Street Journal we sourced ten exceptional British individuals to support British Airways’ 100th birthday celebrations and include in their list of 100 Modern Britons. Olympic gold medalist Amy Williams was not only the first British athlete to win gold in an individual event at the Winter Olympics in 30 years – she was also the first British woman to do so in more than half a century. We knew Amy was heavily pregnant at the time of the shoot, and so decided to focus on the fact that she was not only a gold medalist, but also a mother and the official athlete mentor to the latest talent squad. The image needed to speak to ‘Team GB: The next generation’. This amplified British Airways’ commitment to ensuring the brand didn’t rest on its past successes of the last 100 years – it was focused on making sure the next 100 were even better. We commissioned renowned photographer David Ellis, whose skills with stylistic lighting enabled us to create a powerful portrait of Amy with a bold and striking shadow behind her portraying the contrast between sportswoman and mother. At a difficult time in British Airways’ history Amy provides a powerful symbol of rebirth for the brand, as well as amplifying values of strength, focus and care. The image ran in a digital article co-branded The Times, Wall Street Journal and British Airways, on the 15th June 2019.