United Airlines To Unveil New Super Bowl Ad

[Paul]

Business travelers watching their favorite team battle for the coveted Super Bowl title will be inspired to charge the boardroom and challenge corporate foes with United as their ally. The first United Super Bowl ad in at least a decade, "Dragon" will debut during the Feb. 5 Super Bowl XL game, just prior to the start of the much-anticipated halftime event. The television advertisement will appear in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Set to one of the most dramatic variations yet of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," the new 60-second advertisement alludes to the obstacles and successes business travelers face and United's commitment to enabling their personal and work-life success.

"We wanted our ads to depict the life experiences of our frequent business travelers in a thoughtful and differentiated way," said Dennis Cary, United's senior vice president - Marketing. "The quality and uniqueness of Dragon's innovative animation technique helps us to achieve our goal of making that special connection with our most valued customers."

A short clip of the ad released today provides a glimpse of the magic of both the "Dragon" storyline and puppetry and can be found at http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/united/23623/ after 10:00 a.m. ET.

"A parent's business trip seen through a child's eyes seemed like rich creative territory," said Stuart D'Rozario, group creative director with Fallon, the agency behind several award-winning United ads. "The puppets and stop motion animation style allowed us to tell the story and express the emotion in a really unique way."

PR Newswire

 

[mrfish3726]

That's a great thing to spend a few extra million on (2.5 mil for a 30 second spot), so I guess that will cost UniTED a cool 5 mil? Pretty stupid if you ask me, especially when SWA is and has been the official television sponsor for the National Football League.

 

[JungleClone]

Fish, it's an effective marketing tool. The Super Bowl is probably one of the most-watched programs to air on TV. The ability for United to tap into such a large audience coinciding with Ch. 11 exit is a no-brainer. Whether you are willing to believe it or not, this type of advertising pays dividends for companies. The numbers prove that. Don't feel bad that UA is spending on one add what your employer probably has in their entire 2006 advertising budget. Find something else to be envious about. Maybe you ought to try re-applying.

 

[Imagolfer]

As a viewer, I am thinking why in the heck is United spending all this money on a Superbowl add when they are just coming out of bankruptcy???????????

I don't think the public will perceive this as an "effective marketing tool"

 

[hp_fa]

The ability for United to tap into such a large audience coinciding with Ch. 11 exit is a no-brainer.

As in having no brain at all? Fish is right on this, under the circumstances this company has no business spending $2.5 mil plus production costs on a 30 second ad. The Execs are taking care of themselves and that $2.5 mil is money that could have bee put in a pot toward employees. But nooooo.

 

[mrfish3726]

JungleClone says, "Fish, it's an effective marketing tool. The Super Bowl is probably one of the most-watched programs to air on TV. The ability for United to tap into such a large audience coinciding with Ch. 11 exit is a no-brainer. Whether you are willing to believe it or not, this type of advertising pays dividends for companies. The numbers prove that. Don't feel bad that UA is spending on one add what your employer probably has in their entire 2006 advertising budget. Find something else to be envious about. Maybe you ought to try re-applying."

HMMM, interesting that F9 is only spending 2.5 MIL while UniTED is going for the big 5 MIL . I bet they are really feeling the prssure!! It would be ironic is F9 and SWA are sharing secrets to help UniTED back into BK II??? :blink:

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/airl...4428082,00.html

Send Flip to MEXICO LOL

 

[Cosmo]

It would be ironic is F9 and SWA are sharing secrets to help UniTED back into BK II???

It would also be very illegal, and any participants in such a scheme would likely be facing hefty fines and/or jail time. The SEC strongly frowns upon such actions.

 

[UALDC767]

HMMM, interesting that F9 is only spending 2.5 MIL while UniTED is going for the big 5 MIL . I bet they are really feeling the prssure!! It would be ironic is F9 and SWA are sharing secrets to help UniTED back into BK II??? :blink:

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/airl...4428082,00.html

Send Flip to MEXICO LOL

Is F9 ad being shown outside of Denver during the Super Bowl?

UAL's ad will be shown in DEN, LAX, SFO, ORD and IAD....


DC

 

[USAir757]

Bottom line is that you have to spend money to make money.

Nobody can deny that a Superbowl ad is one of the most valuable marketing tools available to a company. It's about the only day when a huge amount of the population is sitting around watching commercials..... if appropriately put together, an investment in advertising of this kind could have a tremendously positive effect on the airline as it reemerges.

 

[TheWatcher]

its a very good i dea to run an add during a time you will have the most viewers. part of watching the SuperBowl is also watching the commercials. i think it is an advertising coup! good luck to UA! will be seeing you in about 3 months for my upcoming trip to PEK.

 

[trollydolly]

Bottom line is that you have to spend money to make money.

Nobody can deny that a Superbowl ad is one of the most valuable marketing tools available to a company. It's about the only day when a huge amount of the population is sitting around watching commercials..... if appropriately put together, an investment in advertising of this kind could have a tremendously positive effect on the airline as it reemerges.

I would have to agree. I have a small business (store) that tends to do well when we advertise in major newspapers and magazines verses small magazines and newspapers. Our one time TV spot happened to bring in the most customers ever. The return can be very high with the right add and audience.

 

[seajay]

The cost of a Super Bowl ad you read about in the papers is for an ad appearing nationally. United is using "spot" TV, which means it purchased that 60 seconds only in 5 local markets. Viewers in the New York area won't see United's ad, but viewers in the Chicago area will. A local company in New York will buy that time in NY, United only bought the hub markets.

Costs much, much less that way.

 

[flyingcat]

Advertising generates better returns for airlines who use limited distribution such southwest and their website. United uses a reservation system which can be accessed by travel websites. Their prices are compared to numerous other airlines diluting how powerful their ad is. For example if I want to buy a ticket on united and got to travelocity and another airline is cheaper that will win me over. Thus airline brand advertising does not work in this sense when it is instantly compared to other airlines who may have decided not to buy ads but just pay to have their airlines listed in a CRS. There are certain applications where advertising does work. For example in new markets. Southwest does not have ads just to have an ad, unlike United. The majority of their advertising always announce a new service to a city, more effective and direct. I love ads but the airline industry is not like any other industry in how easy we are compared to our competitors and how much price not brand awareness is king.

 

[USAir757]

For example if I want to buy a ticket on united and got to travelocity and another airline is cheaper that will win me over. Thus airline brand advertising does not work in this sense when it is instantly compared to other airlines who may have decided not to buy ads but just pay to have their airlines listed in a CRS.

But if you want to buy a ticket on UA, say from DEN to SAN, why would you automatically go to Orbitz? A large reason for the ad is to drive travellers to the UA website. I wasn't able to see the UA commercial because it wasn't aired in my market, but as I said before, so long as the ad is effective and has a well-written message, then the resulting value in terms of money spent is incredibly high.

Southwest does not have ads just to have an ad, unlike United. The majority of their advertising always announce a new service to a city, more effective and direct.

What about the entire "wanna get away" campaign? They don't mention any specific routes. And WN also advertises heavily by sponsoring individual NFL games as well, where the announcer merely mentions the airline and drops in a quick slogan... it's all effective marketing, or they wouldn't do it.