Memorable
Effective
Style
Heart or Humor
Execution
Nothing is more frustrating in travel than flight cancellations and delays. The new ad from Southwest Airlines was created by the advetising agency GSD&M and it takes a sporty spin at promoting their answer to last minute flight changes. In this article, we’ll look at this ad in terms of its memorability, effectiveness, style, humor and overall execution. Take a look through our scores and comments and see if you feel the same about this high octane approach!
The tagline is “That’s Transfarency. Low Fares. Nothing to Hide.”
The advert features actors Aaron Doucette, Courtney Burrell, Gregg Wayans, and Jeff Bee.
Memorability – 8 / 10
The concept is very memorable for its high energy and comedic value. Everyone that travels by air frequently will have a good understanding of the disappointment that comes with having to change a fight plan. This ad nails that disappointment on the head by relating it to the heart-crushing feeling of loss and failure. This notion will strike hard at business travelers especially, which is likely to be the precise target market Southwest Airlines is trying to communicate with most.
Effectiveness 7 / 10
If you’re a frequent flyer, no notion hits you harder. Cancelled flights are a nightmare in almost all cases, so having a loud and abrasive approach to shouting out your answer to the problem is a fitting idea. The last thing anyone wants when they’ve had a bad time on their journey is to compound their “failures” with further stress from their Airline. This ad guarantees to connect with experienced flyers and makes a promise that is very hard to ignore.
Style – 7 / 10
The production is high quality enough to resemble a scene from a dramatic feature film with a cast that looks convincingly serious throughout. Could more of an effort be made to highlight the comfort available in a Southwest Airline plane within the final frames of the piece? Perhaps, but nothing is taken away from the cleverness of the ads main “gag”. Great acting and a dramatic audio combine well to create a feeling of gravity towards the commercial’s story. Viewers will want to know what happens, even if they sense the ad is essentially telling a joke from the opening scenes.
Heart or Humor – 8 / 10
The commercial creates a clever reference to a football team failing to win a game which forces them to change their plans. This relates highly to traveling business person that has to make last-minute amendments to their travel itinerary for all kinds of unpredictable eventualities. It’s easy to remember, appeals to the target market with clarity and will have many viewers at least smiling at the relation.
Execution – 8 / 10
The concept is catchy and delivers the core message very well. It’s hard not to understand the gag and the final message promoting the offer is perfectly undisturbed. Will people be tempted to switch airlines following consumption of this ad? The idea is very attractive and has been delivered with a concise and memorable story, so yes, we think its very likely that many frequent flyers will be looking up Southwest offers shortly after witnessing this campaign.
