KLM - KLM: It's An Airline

KLM - KLM: It's An Airline

Upon learning that many Americans questioned in a poll thought KLM was a type of milk or a radio station, marketing teams at Holland’s flagship carrier devised a simple, odd, yet undeniably brilliant way to tell the US population just what it really is. And thus, the “It’s an Airline” campaign was born.

“We hit on a boldly unambitious idea that got us really excited: What if we just say it’s an airline?” explained John Limotte, CEO of Mustache, the creative agency KLM collaborated with. “We talked about reading dictionary definitions of airline terminology. And from there, it evolved into the idea of a spokesperson sharing information about an airline that really doesn’t require sharing.”

“It’s an Airline” is the first in a series of four television commercials filmed for this campaign.

In the second advert, “It’s a Flight Attendant” , the protagonist Marino talks about a lovely girl he met on a plane, who asked him what kind of wine he likes and didn’t seem phased by the fact that he “has a lot of baggage to deal with”. Funny ads numbers three and four are similarly titled “It’s a Flier” and “It’s an Airport” .

The four ads have amassed roughly 295,000 views on KLM’s Youtube channel and the airline has also built a dedicated and interactive website for the campaign. Advertising specialist publications like AdWeek.com and PRweek have reported on the campaign, which also features social media components and will reportedly include some kind of Pop-Up activation in San Francisco.