A cheerful British advertisement featuring the tagline “nothing beats a Jet2 holiday” has transformed into an unlikely internet sensation, with social media users worldwide pairing the upbeat audio with videos of vacation disasters and everyday mishaps.
The commercial, originally released by British budget airline Jet2 in January 2024, features voice actor Zoë Lister delivering the now-famous line while Jess Glynne’s 2015 hit “Hold My Hand” plays in the background. What began as a straightforward promotion for package holidays has evolved into a global meme that has accumulated more than 1.5 million videos across TikTok platforms.
The viral phenomenon took off in late 2024 when TikTok users began overlaying the advertisement’s optimistic narration with footage of travel gone wrong. The juxtaposition creates an ironic commentary on the gap between vacation expectations and reality. Videos feature everything from travelers being chased by camels in the desert to hotel guests discovering comically tiny windows behind grand curtains.
Lister, a 43-year-old actress best known for her role on the British soap opera Hollyoaks, has found herself at the center of an unexpected cultural moment. The voice actor, who has been recording Jet2 advertisements since 2019, recently acknowledged the phenomenon on social media. “Chances are if you have a social media account and you live in 2025 on planet Earth, you’ve heard my voice,” she said.
The original campaign was part of a broader marketing strategy by Jet2holidays, the largest tour operator in the United Kingdom. The company, which operates from 13 UK airports to more than 70 destinations across Europe, has used Glynne’s “Hold My Hand” as its musical signature since 2016. The song now plays consistently at Jet2 departure gates, onboard flights, and in the company’s digital content.
What makes the meme particularly striking is its global reach despite Jet2’s European-only operations. Users from countries where the airline doesn’t operate have adopted the audio, using it to caption everything from cooking disasters to everyday inconveniences. The trend has spread far beyond its original travel context, becoming a catch-all soundtrack for life’s unpredictable moments.
The phenomenon has even caught the attention of Glynne herself, who recently met with Lister during a radio appearance. In a clip shared on social media, the singer attempted to recreate Lister’s iconic delivery of the catchphrase before the two embraced. Jet2’s official social media accounts have embraced the viral moment, with the company commenting “one more thing off our 2025 bucket list” on posts featuring the collaboration.
The success of the meme highlights how consistent branding can create unexpected opportunities. Jet2 had embedded “Hold My Hand” into its brand identity for nearly a decade before the audio achieved viral status. Marketing analysts point to this as an example of how long-term brand consistency can amplify moments when user-generated content trends intersect with established corporate messaging.
For Lister, who records her voiceovers remotely from studios in London and Maidenhead, the fame has been both amusing and overwhelming. She notes that Glynne’s song has essentially become the soundtrack to her professional life, as she records countless variations of the holiday jingles for different destinations and platforms. Despite being the voice of one of Britain’s most recognizable advertising campaigns, she has never asked the company for free flights or holidays.
The trend shows no signs of slowing, with new videos appearing daily across social media platforms. From whitewater rafting mishaps to hotel room surprises, users continue to find creative ways to contrast the advertisement’s sunny optimism with reality’s more chaotic moments. The audio has become a shared language for expressing the universal experience of plans going awry while maintaining a sense of humor about life’s unpredictability.
