2005年NPR美国国家公共电台三月-AirTran's Unique Use of 'Face Time'

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Low-cost airlines have changed the travel business. Carriers like Southwest and Jetblue serve fewer cities than traditional airlines and offer fewer perks¹ to passengers. They force the bigger carriers like United and Delta² to change their business practices. Well, now another low-cost carrier AirTran is changing the advertising³ business according to Commentator⁴ Michael Alvear. AirTran is in the beginning stages of a promotion⁵ that includes giant pictures of Elton John's face painted on the sides of their airplanes. Michael Alvear has spent 17 years working in the advertising business. And he says that this technic, simply displaying the face of a celebrity⁶, is a novel way to drum up business.

It was only a matter of time before Americans caught of personality and celebrity worship drove advertising to a profound realization⁷.You don't need to say anything to get your point across.You just need a little face time.There's nothing new about using celebrities⁸ to sell products.It's just that they've always been active participants,doing,saying, recommending something.Like race car driver Jeff Gordon in the GOT milk ads:" My advice," he says, "drink 3 glasses of milk a day." But Elton John isn't giving us any advice. In fact, he isn't giving us anything but his face. Why? Because he wouldn't grant AirTran the rights to use his name, his body, his music,or his vioce. AirTran's cheeky ad campaign reveals how deeply obsessed⁹ we are with fame. We don't need to hear a celebrity say ,sing or succeed in anyting. All we want is another chance to look at them and stock them too. AirTran was so overwhelmed with people calling to find out where they could see the planes. They temporarily established an Elton tracking system on their website. It's a test and it's the power of celebrity worship that the airline was willing to pay for advertising that reaches more birds than people. There are several ironies¹⁰ to this campaign. First it's plastering the face of a star known for his over the top extravagance on a dirt cheap airline he wouldn't set foot on. Like all low-cost carriers AirTran is basically a bus with wings.The second irony¹¹ is that Elton John isn't endorsing¹² AirTran. He's actually a spokesperson for XM Satellite Radio.And he granted them not AirTran conventional rights to his image ,voice and music. AirTran has Elton John's face on their airplanes to advertise the fact that you can listen to XM during their flights. Technically¹³, it's a joint¹⁴ promotion. But XM is essentially¹⁵ using AirTran as a flying billboard¹⁶ for their service. The irony is the airline reaping all the attention. The third wrinkle is that it took a cut-rate carrier to open up what may be the next chapter in advertising. What's next? Putting Pandler Enderson's face on convertibles¹⁷ so men can say they took a top off:"Stay tuned¹⁸, we'll be right back after a word from my sponsor."