Recent United Airlines ad offering friendly service…

Just a few days ago, I wrote that Pepsi should have called the Media Guy before their ill-conceived Kendall Jenner ad launched. Apparently all that was needed was for another major brand to screw up royally in real time to have them breathing a sigh of relief.

In case you missed it, here’s the video Pepsi is quietly cheering about:

Before we go any further, you know what I am going to say…right? Yes, you’re right, United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz should have called the Media Guy. As a matter of fact, Oscar Munoz should have me on his speed dial. When in doubt on your media campaigns or crisis, call the Media Guy.

Instead Mr. Munoz did it his way and made a public relations crisis a complete disaster:

Note to Mr. Munoz: I know you were named PRWeek’s U.S. Communicator of the Year, but even the best of us need some help. You know, “it takes a village…” and all. You should know already that you must offer a quick, unreserved apology when there’s video out there. Get in front of it and fall on your sword.

Click to view on Twitter.

I joked on Twitter that the bat guy from The Walking Dead going up and down the aisle on a United Airlines flight is the leading storyboard idea for the next big ad campaign for the positive media challenged corporation.

This is not really a laughing matter because 1) not only did someone get hurt (mentally and physically), 3) is a public embarrassment, but now 3) the stock price is down $1.4 billion after the video went viral.

No look at what you did. Instead, you only apologize for “having to re-accommodate … customers?” Seriously?

You came off callous and uncaring with little self-awareness. But then you doubled down and made it worse. You took pen to paper and wrote a letter to your employees, describing the passenger as “disruptive and belligerent.” So glad you let your workforce know that “employees followed established procedures for dealing with situations like this.” You know what happens when you do things like this? Clever consumers start posting these kind of videos:

Rupert Younger, a well known public relations expert (and director of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation), agrees with me stating  “The apology by the CEO was, at best, lukewarm or, at worst, trying to dismiss the incident,” said Younger. “The CEO should make a better, more heartfelt, more meaningful and more personal apology.”

And now, besides the stock drop, the internet ablaze and United is struggling to contain fallout from the incident. The top trending topic on Twitter is #NewUnitedAirlinesMottos, with users suggesting slogans such as “not enough seating, prepare for a beating.”

So Mr. Munoz, as Pepsi celebrates you for taking the spotlight off them and Air Canada smirks that their #AirCanadaSux hashtags are pushed back a bit, keep in mind that the Media Guy is here with a few tricks up his sleeve. I left you a voice mail…have your secretary ring me, morning, noon or night. If common sense doesn’t make you call, try looking at these before you go to bed:

The post UNITED AIRLINES: New Advertising Storyboards appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

I’m down on the ground once again. And not a second too soon because flying coach is a special trip to hell. I have to tell you that years of flying business and first class has spoiled me to the point where I need my mimosa before taking off or the whole experience is a bust.

Guess who was the loudest a-hole on my flight?

My flight featured a guy who insisted on being overly loud and half-naked, a twentysomething reading the latest issue of Guns & Ammo (always refreshing in a post-9/11 apocalypse), a psychic in the back of the plane doing some seance with her entourage in the back of the plane, candy bar lunches, and (rumor has it) Nicki Minaj in my business class seat.

Apparently Ms. Minaj took a break from her various Twitter scorned earth campaigns to harass a couple of the first class flight attendants. The stories of her belittling behavior floated back to the cheap seats pretty fast with reports of her ordering vodka cranberries at warp speed and once the flight attendant delivered the drink, she would take a single sip and demand another. She wasn’t alone, as her entire crew did the same thing until all of the mini bottles were gone.

Yeah, uh, you stay classy San Diego!

This story prompted a long overdue visit with one of my best buddies: Flight Girl Daniela. I know what you are thinking, “Flight Girl”?, why in the world would I call her that? You I know she’s a flight attendant. However, sorry folks, Daniela doesn’t take herself that seriously and actually makes passengers call her Flight Girl. For those of you who don’t know, the two columns we teamed on (December 2012’s “Flying the Friendly Skies” and April 2014’s “Daniela::Deux”) are still ranked in the top 10 Media Guy Struggles all-time reads, combining for 200,000+ page views.

We met at a Hollywood deli. She had the matzo ball soup and I had bagel chips with a side of well-done pickles. She arrived in uniform with perfect make-up and a pilot’s hat she lifted from her last flight with the promise to return it at her leisure. I asked her about Nicki’s action in first class and she said that’s normal for a the divas. She reported that even the divas of yesteryear can be a nightmare when the drink orders come in.

“One of the legendary stories they always tell us is about Lucy (Lucille Ball). On flights, no one could not speak to her, even for drink orders — you had to ask her assistant what Lucy wanted to drink. Another time, one of our sisters in flight accidentally dropped a glass of water on her and Lucy insisted it was okay, but when another glass was delivered, Lucy tossed the contents in her face and screeched, ‘How do you like it now?'”.

None of all of this bad behavior bothered the flight attendants (aka stewardesses, aka sexy stews) of the 1950s, 60s and 70s more than the way airlines used women and sex to sell air travel. There was even a secret public relations push to glorify the Mile High Club to make being in the air sexier that being on the ground.

“From objectifying women as maps to the promise of someone getting a wife out of their cross-country flight, airlines have long used women to sell tickets'” says Daniela.

With that, we spent lunch talking about fifteen of the most recognizable Triple S (“Sex Sells Seats”) ads that appeared in the pages of some of the biggest magazines ever in print:

1. Finnair – Summer Routes Ad (1968). No need for a real map. Use the back of a curvy brunette. Once you get to Finland, you can plan your pleasure route.

2. United Airlines  – The former Miss Butterfingers Ad (1967): The ad reads “…two months ago, Sheri Woodruff couldn’t even balance a cup of coffee. But she was friendly, intelligent, and attractive…” I am so glad she was at least attractive!

3. United Airlines – Old Maid ad (1967). They called her an old maid because she’s been flying for almost three years! None of that matters because “…everyone gets warmth, friendliness and extra care. And someone may get a wife…” Wow, coffee, tea or a wife! Sheesh!

4. PSA Airlines – Famous Stewardesses Radio ad (1969). Imagine hearing this on the radio today: 

“Right now PSA, the airline that is famous for its stewardesses, is looking for girls. Yes..girls to fill a cute orange mini-uniform…girls who smile and mean it…girls who give other people a lift. Now if you’re single, 18 1/2 to 26 years old, 5 foot 1 to 5 foot 9, 105 to 135 pounds, have a high school diploma or better–come in for an interview at the Los Angeles International Airport stewardesses department Tuesday or Thursday. PSA is an Equal Opportunity Employer” 

Yeah, uh, equal opportunity except the age, sex, height, weight, and marital status parts!

5. United Airlines – The Glamorous Life ad (1966). How great is it that that evolved from the specs of the original stewardess?: “Registered nurse, not over 25 years of age, weighing 115 lbs. or less, not over five feet four inches tall.” The consolation is at least they edited out “bride ready’ in the final copy.

6. American Airlines – Beautiful Girls (1967). I mean thank the heavens for American Airlines because they couldn’t possibly ‘…afford the sweet young thing who just stands there…’ and we were so much better for it.

7. United Airlines – Come Back Soon ad (1966): Only on United…a special brand of work prostitution: “You went to sleep after dinner. Why not? You work hard. When the flight landed, the stewardess smiled goodbye like she really meant it. She does. She even straightened your boutonniere. You get this kind of ‘extra care’ every time you fly with us.” What else do you get?

8. TWA – It’s A Man’s World ad (1953). The only airline ad we could find that didn’t devalue women and refused to trade on a woman’s body and racial profile as the core checklist in their advertising campaigns.

9. TWA – Foreign Accents ad (1968). It’s a shame the TWA ads of the late 1960s couldn’t mimic their predecessors from the 1950s. Really, how great would it be to select one of your four hostesses on TWA?: “…they come in four styles with hostesses to match: Italian (see toga), French (see gold mini), Olde English (see wench). And Manhattan penthouse (see hostess pajamas—after all all hostesses should look like this, right?)” Toga? Wench? This is about as low as it gets.”

11. Japan Airlines – How to Train and Airline Hostess (1959). This ad could also be called How to Train Your Future Foreign Wife…take a read: “A Japanese girl is taught from childhood the satisfaction of doing something for its own sake….You feel her real desire to please you, and only you. For she satisfies herself only as she succeeds in making you happy.”

12. American Airlines – Conrad Hilton ad (1966). American somehow tried to justify that women are just products with this stellar copy: “Flying just isn’t much of a thrill for Mr. Hilton anymore. He expects attention for his money.”

14. British Overseas Airways Corporation – all her Suki ad (1964). Isn’t it great she is more thank just beautiful? After all, she “can serve you sake, sushi, and teriyaki steak with ancestral grace.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: 
Part 2:
Read part one of Daniela and Michael here.


Part 3:
Read part three of Daniela and Michael here.

The post Nicki Minaj took my seat in business class, plus a visit with Flight Girl Daniela! appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.