As low-cost airlines like Jet Blue and Southwest continue to attract passengers–and increase profits–the larger airlines have decided to launch their own low-fare carriers. Delta has Song Airlines, and United Airlines last year launched TED, based at United’s hub in Denver, and traveling to U.S. cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Orlando.
Fallon, Minneapolis, created the launch for the new airline, and branded the company as an approachable, friendly entity, with good customer service and low prices. Part of the initial campaign was a radio package that touted a fictitious search for a TED spokesperson.
This year, Fallon and TED brought the concept to television, with nine spots–“Beach Hunter,” “4 Ladies,” “Idol,” “Miami Joe,” “Ventriloquist,” “Flannel Guy,” “French Guy,” “Guitar,” and “Beach Couple”–that broke in late May, and another six to roll out in the coming months. The spots, shot in Miami and Las Vegas, were directed by Hank Perlman of bicoastal/international Hungry Man, and feature real people responding to cues and instructions from an interviewer, portrayed by improv comedian Jonathan Mangum. The campaign, currently airing in TED’s hometown of Denver, presents a mix of people–from the earnest to the slightly off kilter–who say lines that tout the benefits of TED; benefits such as low fares, no booking fees, a user-friendly Web site, and the ability to earn miles for United flights. For instance, in “4 Ladies,” a quartet of older women laugh and joke as they are asked to repeat a line about earning miles on TED that can be used on United. And in “Ventriloquist” a guy on a beach–who actually thinks he’s a ventriloquist–is asked to tout TED’s lack of booking fees in a British accent.
Stuart D’Rozario, the group creative director on the package, notes that, “the reason why we had the spokesperson search, for TED is that TED, especially in Denver, has always been an approachable brand that’s part of the community–TED’s your friend, and the whole launch of TED in Denver was untraditional, so this is really a very appropriate type of campaign for a brand like TED.”
In each city the campaign was shot in, Perlman and the agency team went around and searched for real people, and if someone were deemed appropriate, he or she was asked to come back the next day. “They knew nothing about the project,” explains D’Rozario. “All we said was, ‘Do you want to be in a commercial, and will you come back the next day?,’ and surprisingly, almost everyone we wanted to come back, came back.”
It was important, stresses D’Rozario, that they were able to find the correct mix of people. “What actually makes it really interesting is not so much one odd person, because anyone can find one crazy person,” he says. “To my mind, what made the campaign more creative is the range of people. If you have three wacky people, and then one really honest, old couple on the beach wanting to be spokespeople, it’s very funny. And it’s the contrast of the various people which made it work.” The agency had originally planned to do three to six spots, and wound shooting cutting 25, and selecting 15 to air.
“I found that looking at it, [the campaign] became much more powerful as an idea with many people, and getting to know the people, rather than just trying to get lots of punch lines,” says D’Rozario of the increase in the number of spots produced. “We were also very careful about how we shipped [the work] out, and how we orchestrated the media buy, so that when you’re watching them, you see them all come up in a very planned way. So you don’t just see five crazy people in a row. You keep going to different places with it.” D’Rozario notes that Magnum’s contribution as the interviewer was invaluable. The comic had been briefed on what the team needed from the participants for each spot, and was able to successfully play off of reactions and situations.
Perlman shot about 100 people over the three-day shoot, which consisted of two days in Las Vegas and one in Miami. “We wanted to make sure we had enough people in the can,” relates D’Rozario, “because with real people you never know what’s going to work, and what’s not going to work. We were also going after specific selling messages. We’d throw [the messages in], and have them say things back to us. With some people it worked, as you gave them on the fly direction — and sometimes you’d think it worked, but it didn’t work in the edit. It’s not just a mix of characters, but the mix of the appropriate messaging we needed to have for TED–low fares, the mileage plus plan, the booking fees. The shoot days were long, there were a lot of people, and we had a lot of coverage, and we ended up with a bunch of fun spots.”
D’Rozario praises Perlman for helping to make the spots a success, saying that his insights and caution made everything come together. “He didn’t approach from the standpoint of, ‘oh, we’re going to get crazy people and it’s going to be great,'” explains D’Rozario. “He approached it from the standpoint of, ‘It’s going to be hard to find and get really good stuff from people. We need to plan this really well, in terms of the amount of people we shoot, the amount of coverage, the location, how we move around, the way we find people.'” D’Rozario explains that it was Perlman’s suggestion to bring people back the next day, and that the director was careful to get a lot of coverage in case some of the selected people missed the mark. “He was much more cautious about what it would take, and as a result, we thought things through more,” says D’Rozario. “And so we had the same cautions [as Perlman] going into. He shared our concerns, and that’s what appealed to us.”
Additional agency credit on the project goes to Paul Silburn and Bruce Bildsten, executive creative directors; Bob Barrie, group creative director; Michael Rogers, art director; Anna Stassen, copywriter; Ted Knutson, producer; and Brian DiLorenzo, head of broadcast production at Fallon North America.
