Act now! Or in four hours, if you still remember this ad
06.09
My reactions to this airline fold-down tray advertisement for Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters, in order of occurrence:
- Wow, that is ugly and obnoxious.
- The airlines are really getting desperate for revenue.
- Why would they advertise a snack food that is not available on the plane?
- Instead, the ad invites me to text for a free sample of Nut Clusters. (And wait for them to arrive in the mail a few weeks later? Do people do this?) Interesting concept, given that it’s difficult to text mid-flight, and most people have more important things on their minds when the plane lands. Another example of smart marketing used stupidly. Isn’t the point of SMS-enabled ads that you can act immediately? If we could text from the plane, it wouldn’t be a bad idea—plenty of people are bored during flights and would probably try this out of boredom…
- …except that when you read the fine print at the bottom of the ad (case in point—I was bored) it mentions that you may have to text up to six times to get the free sample. No one’s that bored.
How many things can you think of that could’ve been more effectively advertised here? Airborne? Noise-canceling headphones? An upgrade to first class? An orthopedic surgeon that specializes in knee surgery? A laptop?
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I love these disconnections. They’re the perfect view on how disassociated many professional people and companies have become. And how disorganized the thinking is between idea + execution.
On the plus side, there’s good stuff out there, like the Zappos promo from last year while going through AIRPORT SECURITY in Denver — a perfect opportunity to advertise shoes.
Zappos.com placed branded, soft bin insert cushions in all the airport security bins. So Zappos managed to capture audience minds while they weren’t wearing their shoes. Ingenious. Visceral connection: shoes=Zappos.
The idea is connected directly to the state and situation people are in, and that connection is used to sink a mnemomic hook. Powerful.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnemonic.
Zappos is also one of those companies that actually understands what it means to be a part of the community. Community brand leaders foster ‘connection’.
It’s Twitter activity goes beyond discussions about shoes and answering user questions. A simple search of @Zappos on Twitter Search reveals something that shouldn’t be overlooked: by engaging the community and providing entertaining and worthwhile content outside of its business, @Zappos appeals to users even when they’re not thinking about Zappos. Perhaps the best proof of that can be seen in its current follower count: 206,553 two months ago.