Dive Brief:
- JetBlue launched a campaign that aims to remind travelers that they don't have to "accept the bare minimum," a swipe at the stripped-down air services offered at rival airlines. according to a press release.
- Fictional "The Alright Brothers" — successors to the historical, air travel-inventing Wright Brothers — play a leading role in the creative as the originators of the bare-minimum flight experience.
- Developed with agency MullenLowe and running through mid-December, the campaign touches across TV, social media, radio, music streaming platforms and billboards. Target markets are New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale.
Dive Insight:
As travelers complain more about leg room and whittled-down accomodations, JetBlue continues to position itself as the airline that doesn't cut corners. The effort is attached to a restyling of the brand's Airbus A320 aircraft and pending launch of a A321neo model into its fleet.
The push is JetBlue's first major campaign since "Air on the Side of Humanity" from 2013, and marks a change-up in messaging by focusing on wry, historical humor, while still highlighting common frustrations with air travel. Plenty of ads offer alternative takes on famous figures, and JetBlue's creative trots out a few relics from the Wright brothers' era, including old time-y video footage.
JetBlue's consistent ribbing of competitors comes as some aspects of airline services are viewed to have worsened in recent years. The trend is spurred by overbooking, shrinking cabin crews and time-crunched schedules, along with a few high-profile PR fiascos, as Yahoo Finance reported earlier this summer.
However, customer satisfaction hasn't necessarily plunged. In fact, a recent travel survey by J.D. Power, published in May, found passenger satisfaction hit record highs, according to CNBC.
JetBlue's new campaign follows a partnership with VH1 last month that celebrated LGBTQ Pride Month and promoted the new blue and orange branding on its planes.
