The Skies are Friendly…Again
United Airlines is bringing back its “Fly the Friendly Skies” tagline, created in 1965 by Leo Burnett/Chicago when “Mad Men” roamed the earth. The key buzz phrase for the campaign will be “flyer friendly” (try saying that five times after a few drinks…), as in legroom friendly, online friendly, shut-eye friendly, etc.
Tim Winship, publisher of FrequentFlier.com, referred to the campaign as “so last century.” But many other travel industry experts think it’s a stroke of genius to update a well-known campaign that evokes the Golden Age of Air Travel when airlines differentiated themselves with service and amenities.
Gordon Bowen, chairman-chief creative officer at United’s agency McGarry Bowen, acknowledged that it wouldn’t be enough to just resurrect the old tagline.
“We had to reinvent it,” he said. “Today’s air travelers require more, so we redefined the tagline through the lens of what customers nowadays are expecting.”
That would be basics like more legroom, non-stop flights and better on-time performance; digital features like global Wifi and more power-charging outlets; and enhanced comfort with premium-cabin flatbed seats on select international flights and expanded economy-plus seating.
Not to mention a better trained, friendlier staff.
But there are risks associated with all of this flyer friendly fluff.
You need to deliver on the promise. Or be doomed to repeat the past.
The once-proud and friendly United took a nose dive into bankruptcy in 2002 (then the second largest airline) and eventually merged with Continental Airlines in 2010 to become the world’s largest carrier in terms of passenger traffic.
Big headaches followed and as recently as last year the Department of Transportation tapped United with the dubious distinction of being the airline with the most passenger complaints (thanks a lot DOT).
Blame it on the merger, the bugs in the computer reservation system, the lousy on-time performance record, the executive suite revolving door, or the sheer scope and size of the operation. All of it added up to one miserable customer experience, with traffic down for 11 of the past 12 months.
Time to get friendlier.
United is now gearing up to sponsor the United States Olympic Team in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. So it’s Go for the Gold Time and they feel confident this new campaign will be a Perfect 30.
Make that $30 million for an advertising campaign in the fourth quarter of 2013, and another $30 million next year to leverage its Olympic sponsorship (the carriers largest spend “in decades.”)
The campaign launched this past Sunday. You may have seen their “Orchestra” ad on one of the NFL games, the PGA tour championship, 60 Minutes or the Emmys. It was supported by a flight of newspaper and magazine ads.
The TV ad featured the London Symphony Orchestra spread out in Coach (with lots of legroom for their instruments) playing the carriers longtime signature brand music, Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” Actor Matt Damon does the voiceover and the pilots and stewardess shown in the clip are actual United employees.
If you like what you see and hear of the reinvented brand, you, too, may want to pack up your tuba and give United a second chance.