United Airlines’ Frank Ads Get Mixed Reviews
In its first television advertisements since Sept. 11, United Airlines speaks openly with viewers about last month’s terrorist attacks, a strategy that is receiving mixed reviews from marketing experts.
Though some experts said ignoring the events of Sept. 11 would be wrong, others argued that United--only the second major carrier to launch a TV ad campaign since the attacks--needn’t remind air travelers of an event the industry should hope consumers just as soon forget.
“We took a blow, but we’re gonna get up,” pilot Ted McCaan says while straightening his necktie in a one-minute-long spot called “Family.” McCaan’s message sums up the theme of renewal instilled throughout the advertising campaign, which shows documentary-style interviews with United employees and began airing nationwide Tuesday.
In another spot, titled “Passion,” workers talk about the thrill of flying and the freedom to travel anywhere, any time in the United States.
“We’re not gonna let anyone take that away from us,” a male pilot says. “We’re Americans, and this is not gonna beat us down,” a female executive adds.
United’s advertising agency, Fallon Worldwide of Minneapolis, originally asked United employees to read scripts that emphasized camaraderie, a passion for flying and confidence in the company.
“Once we started filming, though, it became apparent that what they had to say from their heart was much better than what I had written for them,” said Bob Moore, Fallon’s creative director. So Moore scrapped the script and instead interviewed 32 workers, a move he said lent the tightly edited production the “appropriate tone.”
Gary Stible, an executive at New England Consulting Group, a Westport, Conn.-based advertising agency, said the United campaign has some nice touches, but he was critical of the approach for “reminding people of what they wanted them to forget. It was a brilliant execution of the wrong strategy.”
Stephen A. Greyser, a professor of consumer marketing at Harvard Business School, disagreed.
“Normally, an airline wouldn’t want to be out there advertising after a major accident,” Greyser said. “But in this instance, the impact of Sept. 11 is so massive in terms of the traveling public’s minds, you can’t hide.”
Jerry Dow, United Airlines’ director of worldwide marketing, said the three ads attempt to strike a balance between heartfelt expressions of confidence about the airline and subtle encouragement to fly.
“Our customers want us out there talking to them, but they don’t want the hard sell just yet,” Dow said.
Airline passenger volumes plummeted after the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as jittery passengers opted to travel by train, car or not at all.
Although air traffic has slowly picked up, many jets are flying about 40% empty even after carriers cut nationwide carrying capacity by 20%, according to the Air Transport Assn., an industry trade group in Washington.
As a result, most airlines have trimmed schedules, including United’s parent, Chicago-based UAL Corp., which is reducing the number of flights from Los Angeles International Airport by 40%.
The industry is expected to report more than $6.5 billion in losses for the year, and Wall Street analysts estimate carriers are losing tens of millions of dollars with each passing day. Wooing Americans back to the skies has become the top priority for the industry after security.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines aired a series of patriotic TV ads one week after the attacks. In one, company President Colleen Barrett intones, “Nothing will keep our country or our company from moving ahead.”
American Trans Air of Indianapolis announced at least two fare sales in television advertisements that aired in Chicago and Indianapolis, but neither made any allusions to Sept. 11.
United’s two largest competitors, AMR Corp.’s American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, have not developed any plans for new TV advertisements since Sept. 11, the companies said last week.
