Sometimes the jingles blur together. Most of them sound alike. Most of them say the same things — and they say very little. Fluff and puffery permeate most airline jingles. So I like this one, because its simplicity just works.
For some unfathomable reason, people who would never believe today’s advertising will accept yesterday’s without question.
Take air travel. Passengers yearn for the “golden age” of air travel. When that golden age took place remains unclear. Maybe the 1950s. Maybe the 1960s. Perhaps even the 1970s. And hey, the 1980s had a lot going for them too. But everyone agrees the golden age ended long ago.
Of course, this “golden age” sprang as much from advertising as anything else. Reality fades away. Perceptions last. Read more
The problem with jingles is that they almost inevitably sound prideful. When you get a bunch of singers to belt out an anthem to consumerism, the advertiser tends to sound like it’s pretty proud of itself. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with a little pride. It’s just that, ultimately, consumers get to decide whether you really have anything to sing about.
And in some cases, pride goeth before the fall.
Well, that was fast. Air Australia, the new discount carrier featured in this post from November, has shut down after only four months, stranding 4,000 passengers. Unfortunately a well-designed identity doesn’t count for much when you can’t pay for gas for your planes.
For many years, from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, “Fly the Flag” was British Airways’ exhortation to travellers to do the patriotic thing: fly the state-owned carrier, the one with the Union Jack on the tail of all its aircraft.
Yet the jingle was commissioned by an American agency in London. Written by an American songwriter. Sung by what, to my ears, sound like American studio singers.
In short, British Airways may be British. But its jingle was 100% American.
What if baggage handling were an Olympic event? That’s what British Airways asks in this follow-up to last year’s Aviators commercial. Apparently, in this Olympic year, BA promises to ensure that British bags always hit the carousel first. Update (Feb. 9, 2012): It didn’t hit me until half an hour later, but isn’t it bizarre that this spot features no Olympic branding even though British Airways paid £40 million to sponsor the games?
This one’s a bit of a puzzle.
Mohawk Airlines was a regional airline based in upstate New York. It grew quickly in the late 1960s and early 1970s, then was absorbed into Allegheny in 1972. So its advertising hasn’t left the paper trail of national airlines like United or TWA. But here’s what I can deduce.
As expected, there were no national airline commercials in the Super Bowl this year, but there were some local buys. Based on Twitter traffic, it seems Southwest ran an ad in Atlanta touting its new service to Hartsfield. And jetBlue showed this ad in the Boston market:
In a little under 4 days and 16 hours, if British Airways’ Facebook page is to be believed, the airline will launch a new television spot to follow up on last year’s “Aviators.” Will it be as spectacular as the original? We’ll see…
One of the amazing properties of jingles is how they can become integral parts of their brands over time. For example, Alka-Seltzer first used “plop plop, fizz fizz” in the 1950s — today, they’re still using the tune in their advertising.
By holding on to this branding element, you gain the freedom to vary others. This jingle, “We’re American Airlines. Doing what we do best,” is a perfect example. Campaigns evolved, tastes shifted, the tagline changed, and the account even switched agencies, but this melody — or variations derived from it — were a part of American’s advertising for more than 20 years.
 | FedEx Express (Aug. 10) |
 | FedEx Express (Aug. 10) |
 | ALAK (Aug. 10) |
 | Miami Air International (Aug. 10) |
 | Air ALM (Aug. 10) |
 | Finnair (Aug. 10) |
 | International Air Bahama (Aug. 10) |
 | Martinair (Aug. 10) |
 | Air New Zealand (Aug. 10) |
 | Pilgrim Air Service (Aug. 10) |
