Another year, another booze-fueled, scandal-plagued ego trip on the French riviera. If that sounds harsh, perhaps it is. It’s easier to forgive the excesses of Cannes when they’re accompanied by inspiring work. Unfortunately, this year was a bit of a dud.
Few airline industry campaigns were awarded, and many of those that did pick up Lions are retreads of previous years’ campaigns. Last year, airlines took eight Silver and 15 Bronze Lions, already a far cry from the heights of 2014. This year, it was just four Silver and five Bronze, with most of those in lesser categories.
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July 3rd, 2016 \ Posted in Advertising, Awards, Features \ No Comments »
Last year, airlines had a spectacular showing at the Cannes Lions, with a Grand Prix, six Golds, eight Silvers, and eight Bronzes. Inevitably, this year’s performance (eight Silver, 15 Bronze) was not quite so lofty. But there were some strong contenders, along with the usual mix of shocking omissions and perplexing victors that really make you wonder what the hell the judges were thinking.
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June 28th, 2015 \ Posted in Advertising, Awards, Features \ No Comments »
By a remarkable coincidence, two U.S. airlines launched new brand identities this week. Southwest revealed its new look at a lavish ceremony on Monday. Frontier unveiled its new look at a somewhat less fancy event earlier today. And the week is young — who knows what excitement is yet to come!
In their own ways, both Southwest and Frontier are returning to their roots. That makes sense for one airline; it’s a perplexing choice for the other. The difference says a lot about what it means to be a “low-cost carrier” today.
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September 9th, 2014 \ Posted in Features, Liveries \ 1 Comment »

Welcome to the 17th issue of The Work This Week, a weekly roundup of new advertising, identity, and brand experience work from around the airline industry. This week, jetBlue airs on the side of humanity, Thomas Cook grows a heart, and Air France redesigns its cabins for the rest of us.
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October 1st, 2013 \ Posted in Flyby Wire \ No Comments »

Welcome to the 16th issue of The Work This Week, a weekly roundup of new advertising, identity, and brand experience work from around the airline industry. This week, the friendly skies are back.
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September 22nd, 2013 \ Posted in Flyby Wire \ No Comments »

Welcome to the fourteenth issue of The Work This Week, a weekly roundup of new advertising, identity, and brand experience work from around the airline industry. This week, almost every airline ever launches a fall advertising campaign.
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September 10th, 2013 \ Posted in Flyby Wire \ No Comments »

Welcome to the fourth issue of The Work This Week, a weekly roundup of new advertising, identity, and brand experience work from around the airline industry. This week, the great white north gets a new blue plane, the new American gets new boarding passes, and Norwegian’s flight attendants rock new socks. Read more
June 9th, 2013 \ Posted in Flyby Wire \ No Comments »

There’s one facet of airline branding that’s subtle, yet intensely symbolic. And best of all, it doesn’t cost a thing. It’s the flight number.
In the age of rail, railroads often reserved lower numbers for their most prestigious trains. By the jet age, Pan Am used “flight 1″ for its fabled round-the-world service (flight 2 flew the same route, but in the opposite direction.) The flight an airline designates as “flight 1″ has powerful meaning. It may reflect the airline’s history (as in the cases of Southwest, JetBlue, and American.) Or it might reflect present priorities (as for Air Canada.) Sometimes flight 1 can give you a deep insight into an airline’s soul. And sometimes not.
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June 9th, 2013 \ Posted in History \ No Comments »

Welcome to the second issue of The Work This Week, a weekly roundup of new advertising, identity, and brand experience work from around the airline industry. This week, design flies with Finnair, art flies with airBaltic, and aspiring pilots fly with Alitalia… sort of.
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May 26th, 2013 \ Posted in Flyby Wire \ No Comments »

Welcome to the first issue of The Work This Week, a weekly roundup of new advertising, identity, and brand experience work from around the airline industry. On TWTW‘s maiden flight, we dissect what it means to be British with British Airways, burn calories for air miles with airBaltic, and rediscover the joy of reading with Qantas.
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May 19th, 2013 \ Posted in Flyby Wire \ No Comments »