benchmark report
airline marketing
jennifer aniston
anthem SOUTHWEST AIRLINES Anyone who’s ever flown on Dallas, Texasbased LLC Southwest Airlines knows that they’re in for a rare treat in the air. Famous for their rock bottom fares, no-frills flights and cheeky, spirited flight crews, the carrier has long been known for doing things differently. Now, with the release of a very funny series of spots entitled “Anthem” , Southwest has even star ted making their own minimusicals. Using real-life Southwest employees, the four new spots highlight the carrier’s goal of offering passengers total “Transfarency” by having the employees break into glorious song when questioned by passengers at check-in about thing like checked baggage fees and rapid reward miles usage. Promising passengers they will strive to be a rare airline “yes” in a world of airline “no,” NOV 2016 ISSUE
EMIRATES the spots were directed by award-winning commercial helmer Jun Diaz who infuses the ads with the same big-hear ted humor and off beat sensibility that has been the hallmark of his work for other major clients like Twix, Converse and Yahoo!, and which also meshes perfectly with Southwest’s fun and funky vibe. And though the Southwest employees in the spots are usually lip syncing, the airline’s fans that have been sharing the clips on social media are very real indeed. Two of the most popular spots – one which features a truly inspired, retro-fueled take on Journey’s classic “Any Way You Want it” – have already generated more than 7.5M views a piece on YouTube and been written up everywhere from AdWeek. com to the Chicago Business Journal .
Critics who thought Jennifer Aniston’s previous, love-it-or-hate-it online and TV spots for Emirates were a little pretentious and annoying had better buckle up, because “America’s Sweethear t” is back for another round of plucky, perfectly-coiffed marketing messages. Picking up where a previous spot left off, the ad opens with Aniston stepping out of a luxurious inflight shower, fixing her iconic hair in the mirror and then running into an adorable little boy playing in her private, first class cabin. If Aniston’s star power doesn’t win you over, the kid surely will. The cute, charming clip ends with Aniston finding the boy’s family in the economy cabin and then swapping seats with his grateful mother so the Emmy-winning actress can hang out with her new little friend for just a wee bit longer. Beautifully showcasing all of the class levels the carrier flies, as well as the wonders of Emirates award-winning
I.C.E. inflight enter tainment offerings, the spot also humanizes the luxury carrier by showing that even Emirates’ economy seats are posh enough for a Hollywood celebrity. Already proving to be something of a viral hit online – the clip has been viewed over 3.2 million times on YouTube since premiering less than a month ago – the new spots were directed by Oscar-nominated director Bryan Buckley aka the “King of Super Bowl ads.” Written up everywhere from GulfBusiness. com the DailyMailUK the ad’s sunny, social-media-shareable humor, coupled with the recent uptick of interest in all things Aniston (in wake of the Brangelina breakup), should keep Emirates’ new campaign flying high for weeks and months to come.
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EXPERIENTIAL SOCIAL DIGITAL TV, PRINT, OOH
