Is Airline Advertising Out of Control?

The Consumerist: Depending on the airline you choose, everything from the exterior of your jet to the overhead compartments to your tray table and the back of your seat to your airplane safety video can be sponsored by an advertiser. And considering the amount of revenue being generated by these ads, they probably aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Slapping ads on every available surface has mostly been something that budget carriers like Spirit and Ryanair do to make up for their discount airfares. But USA Today reports that a growing number of airlines are looking to tap into the money from advertisers looking to target in-flight audiences.

"Airlines need to be sustainably profitable to be able to invest in their people, their product and continue to serve markets," a spokesman for the Air Transport Association of America says. "As with other modes of transportation and other industries, including sports and entertainment, advertising revenue helps offset the high costs faced by the airline industry."

"Advertising helps us invest our funds into the product, so we get a better experience for the customer," explains a rep for JetBlue.

"I pay for a ticket to get from point A to point B safely," he says. "If they want to bombard me with advertising, then give me a discount."

An American Airlines marketing exec says advertisers provide its customers with special offers — free in-flight Wi-Fi or bonus frequent-flier miles — thus, the ads are "a win for everyone."

A rep for Southwest says the airline tries "not to hit customers with too many advertising messages... Our goal is to keep the messages travel-related and focused on Southwest products."

Meanwhile, one ad expert warns that, "The advertiser is immediately aligning itself with the airline brand — and that is not always advantageous... If the airline does not provide good service, has long delays, has a history of safety violations, charges for every single thing — these may be elements that another brand does not want to be associated with."

Orbitz Fined $60,000 for Deceptive Advertising

Fox News: The federal government has fined travel booking site Orbitz $60,000 for allegedly obscuring information on its website about the extra taxes and fees on airline tickets.

Ticket companies are supposed to include the full price of airfare, including taxes and fees, in any advertisement. According to the Department of Transportation, Orbitz displayed homepage ads in early 2011 that did not have that information. Instead, the taxes and fees were disclosed at the bottom of another page in fine print.

"Consumers have a right to know the full price they will be paying for air fares," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a written statement. "We established airline price advertising rules to protect the consumer and will take enforcement action when these rules are violated."

But Orbitz described the apparent violation as a "glitch," claiming the issue has been resolved.

"Orbitz is in compliance with DOT advertising requirements and the glitch that resulted in how fares were displayed for a short period of time earlier this year has been addressed," Orbitz said in a statement.

There is one exception to the taxes-and-fees disclosure rule when it comes to taxes imposed on a "per-passenger basis," but starting next year ticket agents will have to include all taxes and fees in ads.

The Latest Spirit Airlines Ad

Spirit Airlines, always ready to create ads based on news events or celebrity misbehavior, has posted a new ad based on Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan. Cain's plan would set tax rates at 9% for all taxpayers and  coporations as well as create a new 9% federal sales tax.

Spirit's ad offers one-way $9 fares based on a roundtrip purchase.

Ritz Carlton Wants to Stay With You

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Hotel Chatter: Once upon a time, an international hotel brand become so self-assured that it started an ad campaign telling people it could "move heaven and earth, then move it back" as well as "stop time for a day." Well, heaven would be nice, and we would sure love an extra-extra-long weekend, but maybe we could just start with a free breakfast?

Ritz-Carlton is going for the road-less-traveled approach with its new "Let Us Stay With You" ad campaign. The slogan, which at first sounds like they are asking to spend the night at your house, actually refers to the brand's commitment to making each guest's experience as memorable as possible.

From tailored suits to fireworks to baby turtles to champagne to something called senbazuru (a type of origami)—Ritz-Carlton has suddenly become like the upscale department store of the hotel world. Whatever you want, they'll provide. And even if you didn't necessarily think you wanted it, they'll go ahead and provide it anyway.

A 3-minute film (top) accompanies the campaign's shiny new print ads (one of them is pictured above), which have been appearing in the pages of travel magazines and newspapers. The clip, which flashes the same two words ("Let us...") juxtaposed with different appealing scenarios , is designed to be a "dynamic, ever-changing online portal that allows ladies and gentlemen to publicly curate triumphant stories of luxury service and care." Which would lead us to think that guests can submit their own ideas of 'unforgettable experiences' to be brought to life in the film as well. But no clear submission process has been announced.

Though, keep in mind, the hotel does not want this to be called a "campaign" or "advertising program." Because that would be dirty. Instead, this is a "Brand Platform" that rolls out images and slogans and propaganda in ways very similar to advertising campaigns. But we won't hold it against them. If a picture with some well-placed text is capable of getting people to book a stay at a Ritz-Carlton of their choosing, then they've done a good job.

And why wouldn't it be successful? According to Chief Sales & Marketing Officer Chris Gabaldon:

"We worked with a dynamic cross-section of more than 35,000 ladies and gentlemen around the world to define the pillars of the new brand platform.

[The platform] is a series of guidelines which inform how we interact with our guests, which new products and services we introduce, how we train and evangelize our employees, and even our design décor strategy."

Yeah, yeah. But how can we get our hands on some baby turtles? Those cute little guys can stay with us any day of the week!

British Airlines Highlights 92 Year History

British Airways has launched a multimillion-pound advertising campaign, including a 90-second TV commercial. It’s the biggest brand campaign by the airline for a decade.

The video begins with a vintage re-enacting of an air mail pilot starting up his de Havilland Dragon DH89, then to a Douglas Dakota DC-3, then a Vickers VC-10, to a Concorde and ending with a Boeing B-747. The ad emphasizes on the carrier's motto: To Fly, To Serve.

BA said that, in addition to the advertising campaign which also includes the print media, it is spending more than £5 billion ($7.7 billion) on customer products and services over the next five years.

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Hersheypark Using Clues to Hype New 2012 Mystery Ride

Model built using clues for Hersheypark's new project

PennLive: After months of silence, Hersheypark is starting to ratchet up the hype around its new project — code name “Attraction 2012.” Like a game of “Clue” for roller coaster fans, the park has once again started dropping hints around the Internet. Follow the clues, and they could unlock the mystery of the new ride.

It’s all part of an elaborate marketing strategy designed to generate buzz.

Hersheypark has been down this road before. When it announced Fahrenheit in 2007, it conducted a viral marketing campaign filled with twists and turns. But what fans say is different this time around is the depth and detail involved — fake Web pages, hidden messages, foreign languages and symbolism abound.

The clues will also be coming more frequently. A website dedicated to the attraction promises to release four new “studies” every Monday over the next four weeks.

“Honestly, the idea of a viral ad campaign like this for a theme park ride is quite unique,” said Lance Hart, creator and operator of screamscape.com, one of the leading amusement park news websites. He’s been following the campaign since it started in the fall. “The only other time I had ever seen one was as a lead-in to Hersheypark’s last big coaster, Fahrenheit, and that one was ... very mild by comparison to where I think this one is heading,” Hart said in an email.

Officially, the park has released few details about the ride since its initial discussions with Derry Township last fall. However, earlier this month Hershey Entertainment & Resorts was required to file a building permit with the township. There were few details included, except for a map that shows a possible serpentine layout of the new ride in the Comet Hollow section of the park.

Hersheypark officials are staying pretty mum about their plans. They did not return calls Tuesday seeking comment. However, in an interview earlier this month, park General Manager Frank O’Connell chuckled when asked about the construction under way in the park.

“We’re building a slushy stand,” was all he would say.

Hart said that in the past, viral campaigns in which organizations drop hints piecemeal have been used to tease movies and video games to much success. “I think people in general enjoy a good mystery story,” he wrote. “And the chance to be the one to solve that mystery is just too tempting to ignore.”

At the center of the game is the Ride Institute of Technology, a fictitious roller coaster think-tank. In October, the Ride Institute was introduced to a trio of local fans who were visiting the park. They were directed to a website for the institute, which they believe contained clues about the park’s new ride. But for the last several months the park and the RIT website have been quiet.

Not any more.

Just days after Hersheypark opened for the spring season, the institute is back with a new website and promises of more clues over the next few months. “I’m actually getting more interested in the site than what they’re building,” said Chris Cronrath, a co-founder of Keystonethrills.megabb.com, a website where people talk about amusement park news. “It’s a fun read ... and it kind of reminds me of the TV show ‘Lost.’”

Like “Lost,” there are puzzle pieces scattered around for people to find. One of the most recent — three logos for the Ride Technology Institute that have appeared on three industry Web pages. Stare at the images long enough and they flash four numbers, part of what appears to be a 12-digit series.

Finding all 12 numbers could be the key to a code, or lead to yet another riddle. The updated website also promises it will release four “studies” over the next several weeks. The studies, purported to be about propulsion, gravity, materials and interdisciplinary studies, are expected to contain more clues about the ride.

There are also more direct links with Hersheypark. One of the website’s pages features “distinguished alumni” — some of whom are park employees, Cronrath said.

Meanwhile, within the park itself, construction has started in the Comet Hollow area. The building permit filed by the park didn’t provide many details, since amusement parks are exempted from providing land development plans to local municipalities if they’re adding features within their boundaries.

However, the permit did include plans showing the location of the ride’s support foundations — and what appears to be a possible track connecting the dots.

Eric Geiple is one of the people following the project’s progress with the KeystoneThrills group. As clues have leaked out, he’s been mapping what could be the ride’s course through the park. He found the building permit’s plans fascinating.

“You can easily see where the creek runs and where it runs around the Comet,” he wrote in an email. “It also looks to have a lot of low turns with some high air-time hills in the middle.” That has him leaning toward an Intamin-designed roller coaster, the Swiss firm that designed Fahrenheit, he said.

Other fans are leaning toward the design firm Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, the designers of the Great Bear.

Ryanair Offers Rebekah Brooks Discount Fares

Irish low cost air carrier Ryanair seems to be taking a page from Spirit Airlines’ marketing playbook. Spirit Airlines has become known for their advertising parodies of Rod Blagojevich and AnthonyWeiner, among others. Ryanair's ads ran in UK papers over the weekend offering low fares for customers who are “hacked off with hire fares,” alongside a photo of Rebekah Brooks gesturing: “I’m outta here with Ryanair”. 

Brooks resigned her job as chief executive of Rupert Murdoch’s News International as pressure mounted over her alleged role in the phone-hacking scandal that shut down the 168-year-old tabloid News of the World.

Last year, Ryanair was forced to issue an apology to easyJet after running an advert in the Guardian and Daily Telegraph which portrayed easyJet’s boss as “Pinocchio” for misleading customers by not revealing its on-time performance figures.

Spirit Airlines Capitalizes on Blago Conviction

They’re at it again! Less than 24 hours after former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted on 17 felony corruption charges, Spirit Airlines has sent an e-mail ad that features a Blago doppelganger behind bars with the tag line, "We got these fares and they're f-ing golden."

The ad goes on to say the fares are “from only $17 each way, based on roundtrip purchase.”

Only members of the Spirit Airlines Fare Club are eligible for the reduced fares on select travel dates. Time is short -- the offer ends Wednesday at noon central time.

The ad on Spirit's web site also says, "We are guilty of selling seats but don't expect this sale to serve much time... Get booked now!"

Tourism Bureau Says Chicago is "Second to None"

Chicago Sun Times: Chicago’s tourism boosters Tuesday will introduce a $6 million campaign, one that has some swagger in it, to draw more visitors to the city.

The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau will begin marketing the city with a new slogan, “Chicago: Second to None,” reopen sales offices overseas that state government used to operate and establish a commission to attract professional and amateur sports events.

Money for the campaign comes from a legislative gift the bureau received last year, a doubling of the tax rate on taxi and bus operators that serve the Chicago airports. Most of the money was earmarked for the bureau’s use in promoting McCormick Place and local attractions.

The tax hike was part of a bill that upended longstanding labor practices at McCormick Place. But a federal judge has ruled the bill’s labor provisions illegal, setting back efforts to attract conventions based on lower costs at McCormick Place.

Bruce Rauner, chairman of the convention bureau, said the agency isn’t letting the decision hinder efforts to promote Chicago. “We’ll make sure that the image of McCormick Place is restored and enhanced,” he said, calling the convention hall both a “low-cost, high-quality destination” for meeting planners.

The campaign will be launched Tuesday at the convention bureau’s annual membership meeting. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), an architect of the labor reform package, are due to speak on the tourism industry’s importance.

Warren Wilkinson, senior vice president at the bureau, called the campaign “purposeful, strategic marketing” designed to tout Chicago’s virtues with confidence and attitude. The new slogan tweaks Chicago’s image as the Second City and replaces “Make no little plans,” a saying attributed to architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham.

One ad calls Chicago “the city that ranks No. 1 in No. 1 rankings,” and another says it lacks only “a museum of museums.”

The bureau is a nonprofit organization that draws its budget from tourism taxes and membership dues. Wilkinson said its overall budget is increasing to $18 million for its coming fiscal year, up from about $15 million.

Bureau spokeswoman Meghan Risch said it will open tourism offices in the United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland, replacing state offices closed because of budget cuts. Others are under consideration, she said.

The agency is looking for an executive director to run the new sports commission, which will look for indoor and outdoor events. Chicago hoteliers especially want bookings for the bleak midwinter. A Super Bowl may be out of reach because Chicago has no domed football stadium.

The campaign includes improvements to the ChooseChicago.com web site starting in November, Risch said.

Fast Feeders Move Upscale

Advertising Age: These days, it seems like fast feeders can no longer look like fast feeders. In an effort to compete with No. 3 U.S. chain Starbucks, hamburger chains like McDonald's and Burger King are gradually rolling out revamped stores, complete with flat-panel TVs, comfortable seating and sleeker interior design-and even Subway is testing out a cafe concept.

Here's a look at a few fast feeder's cafe concepts:

McDonald's

McDonald's may not have been a place where customers previously liked to take a load off. Uncomfortable chairs and bright red-and-yellow accents and fluorescent lighting do not a comfortable lounging experience make. McDonald's seems to recognize that and is now in the throes of the largest store-by-store remodel in the company's history, an estimated $1 billion project. For the new design, the company is jettisoning the red-and-yellow interiors and bright-red roof and opting for more muted colors, and adding TVs and lounge areas with comfortable seating. The fast feeder is redesigning about 800 locations this year and expects to have the majority of its 14,000 U.S. locations sporting a new look by 2015.

Burger King

Burger King in 2009 announced grand plans for a flashy contemporary redesign known as "20/20." The new look includes a red-and-black color scheme, pendant lighting and banners for partitions between booths. That redesign has since been revised by new owners, 3G Capital, and the price tag cut in half -- to an average of $275,000 per location -- in hopes of making it more affordable for franchisees struggling with sales declines. The company is also offering an incentive package of reductions in franchise renewal and royalty fees. Burger King hopes to get 1,000 locations remodeled in the next year-and-a-half. Owners of more than 800 restaurants are already onboard for the revamp.

Subway
Sandwich giant Subway is testing an upscale-cafe concept, known as Subway Cafe. Originally launched in Alexandria, Va., by a franchisee, the test now has about 15 locations, with plans to add about 10 before year's end. The cafes are designed to give off a more comfy feel, complete with brick or wood-paneled walls, and even -- no kidding -- the occasional fireplace. Subway, which earlier this year became the world's largest chain by number of locations, has already this year opened nearly 1,000 locations globally, and plans to open 1,000 more before the end of the year. But the company has not said whether the cafe concept will make it out of test phase.

Spirit Airlines Presents... the Strippermobile

Jaunted: Strippermobiles. Yes, these are a thing, moving trucks that have been retrofitted with clear plexi windows, to show off the fleshy goods pole dancing inside.

Usually Strippermobiles are found in Las Vegas, advertising various strip and fully nude clubs more effectively than billboards. Today, however, one is cruising Sin City on behalf of an airline — Spirit Airlines, to be precise.

Because one crass sale wasn't enough this week (i.e. the airline's Weiner Sale), Spirit has launched this in-your-face campaign in both Las Vegas and Los Angeles to advertise their $9 Club fares between the two cities.

Our favorite sign being held by the bikini babes? It's got to be "I'll go both ways for $18." Get it? Roundtrip.