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Southwest On the Attack in Feisty New Ad Campaign
Southwest Airlines’ new print advertisements aggressively criticize other carriers for charging petty fees and are drawing both attention and praise—for now.
30-Second Summary
The ad campaign is an effort to point out that, while other airlines are raising and initiating fees on a variety of items, such as checking bags and booking trips over the phone, Southwest is not going to do the same.
“It’s not what customers want,” said Southwest chief executive Gary Kelly after the company’s annual meeting May 21. “Nobody wants to be nickeled and dimed.”
The campaign will be in full swing next week, but Southwest has already a print ad in the Wall Street Journal that shows the company is not holding back in getting the message across.
A mock coupon reads “DON’T #$*!% ME OVER.” Below are printed the words “Southwest is the only airline that accepts this coupon.”
The ad’s implications are clear: Southwest will not join its competitors in charging fees for checked baggage, snacks or anything else (although the carrier does charge $25 for a third checked bag.) The company has also updated its Web site to include a page titled “Fees Don’t Fly With Us.”
Some travel bloggers are impressed with the new ads, but time will tell if Southwest’s attempts to advertise with attitude will attract or turn off the general public.
If the ads do well, they could provide a major boost for the carrier, which suffered from bad press in March after the FAA announced it would charge Southwest record fines of $10.2 million for allegedly operating thousands of flights without conducting routine inspections.
“It’s not what customers want,” said Southwest chief executive Gary Kelly after the company’s annual meeting May 21. “Nobody wants to be nickeled and dimed.”
The campaign will be in full swing next week, but Southwest has already a print ad in the Wall Street Journal that shows the company is not holding back in getting the message across.
A mock coupon reads “DON’T #$*!% ME OVER.” Below are printed the words “Southwest is the only airline that accepts this coupon.”
The ad’s implications are clear: Southwest will not join its competitors in charging fees for checked baggage, snacks or anything else (although the carrier does charge $25 for a third checked bag.) The company has also updated its Web site to include a page titled “Fees Don’t Fly With Us.”
Some travel bloggers are impressed with the new ads, but time will tell if Southwest’s attempts to advertise with attitude will attract or turn off the general public.
If the ads do well, they could provide a major boost for the carrier, which suffered from bad press in March after the FAA announced it would charge Southwest record fines of $10.2 million for allegedly operating thousands of flights without conducting routine inspections.
Headline Link: Southwest says no to fees, amps up advertising efforts
“They decided to do this marketing push to show how they’re different and not going to raise fees on their customers,” said Melanie Mahaffey, senior manager at Southwest's advertising agency, GSD&M Idea City, of the new ad campaign.
Source: The Dallas Morning News
Although Southwest has raised its fares slightly this year, “The Dallas-based low-fare carrier still allows passengers to check luggage, munch on snacks and sit where they like without doling out extra cash,” the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Reactions: Positive reaction to Southwest’s ads, and trading ads for service
Travel blog Jaunted applauds the new print ad: “With so many airlines adding extra charges, a bit of attention-grabbing “#$*!%” is just what Southwest needs to remind jaded fliers that you won’t get charged for checking a bag on the carrier. Nicely done.”
Source: Jaunted
Another travel blog, Cheapest Destinations, calls the Southwest ad “pure brilliance.”
Source: Cheapest Destinations
Allison Linn writes for MSNBC’s Ads of the Weird blog that the recent advertising campaigns from carriers are like JetBlue and Southwest are “cute,” but “why don’t airlines dump the commercials altogether and put that money toward making our flights just slightly more endurable?”
Source: MSNBC (Ads of The Weird)
Related Topic: Airlines going head to head
The new Southwest ads are not the first case of airline-on-airline attack. In 2005, United Airlines capitalized on American Airlines’ “More Legroom Throughout Coach” campaign by firing back with its own line of ads. One showed a picture of a cramped flyer whose feet are near his head, accompanied by the text, “Fly American, and you could kick yourself. Literally.” American Airlines reacted by saying the ads were disingenuous.
Source: USA Today
© 2012 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
