New Eastern Airlines Ads Feature Grainy Realism

Eastern Airlines confronts its problems with an ambitious campaign that combines personality advertising with grainy realism about a company in crisis, but publicity experts question whether the plan will work.

The “100 Days” commercials, starring court-appointed trustee Martin R. Shugrue, are running during prime time and newscasts in 33 markets. The company won’t say how much it’s spending in the campaign, in which Shugrue admits that Eastern must climb out of a “large, deep hole.”

“Eastern’s been a troubled carrier for a long time, and there’s been a build-up of negatives,” said Michael Henderson, senior vice president for advertising.

The appointment of Shugrue on April 12 by a federal bankruptcy court gave Eastern’s marketers a chance to present a new image.

“He represents the most dynamic portrayal of a new beginning. He’s new, he’s fresh and he doesn’t carry any baggage with him,” Henderson said.

The 100 Days campaign shows Shugrue fielding questions from Eastern employees at a hangar and talking with passengers.

There are references to Eastern’s bad labor relations history and crippling Machinists strike, which began March 4, 1989, and led to a filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection five days later. One passenger mentions “maintenance,” not an issue that airline advertising usually addresses.

But Shugrue emphasizes change, pledging that Eastern will be better each of the 100 days.

“Starting today when you fly Eastern, you won’t see many signs of the months behind us,” he says.

He tells employees: “. . . the human equation will be paramount at Eastern. If that thinking is a change from what you’ve experienced before, so be it.”

Those commercials have angered Eastern’s unions, who say Shugrue can’t claim improved labor relations when he’s made little progress in union negotiations.

Eastern’s commercials intentionally look unprofessional, with microphones squealing and plane engines roaring.