Southwest Airlines’ Brand Film: “Alone In Tombstone”

Southwest Airlines has just released what it’s referring to as its “first-ever brand film for the airline.” I’m curious to hear what OMAAT readers think about it.

Southwest’s “Alone in Tombstone” short film

“Alone in Tombstone” is Southwest Airlines’ new brand film, which is based on a short story. The film is described by Southwest as “a coming-of-age tale about life, love, and loss,” which “tells the story of a young woman searching for her place in life when faced with a surprise visitor.”

The airline has uploaded the roughly 12-minute film to its YouTube channel, and it will also be available for free streaming on Southwest flights as of June 1, 2023. You can watch the short film below.

For some background on how this came to be, Southwest began this project in 2021, to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary. The airline collaborated with Wattpad, a webnovel platform, to host a writing contest.

The “Southwest: Storytellers On The Rise” contest called on the Wattpad community to share stories of kindness rooted in travel. 10 finalists were selected, and then a winner was chosen. That winner was author E.A. Comiskey, and that short story then ended up becoming a short film.

Here’s how Southwest Airlines’ Managing Director of Communications, Brandy King, describes this film:

“The creative community brings rich stories to life through various forms of art, including music, writing, and filmmaking. The Southwest: Storytellers On The Rise writing contest uncovered meaningful stories of human kindness, and we are grateful for the opportunity to bring ‘Alone in Tombstone’ to the screen. Our On The Rise platform supports creatives by providing them a career lift in their journey to reach their goals. We look forward to continuing to amplify new voices as creatives share their unique perspectives and pursue their dreams.”

This isn’t exactly what I was expecting

I’ll let OMAAT readers chime in with their thoughts on the short film, since I’m not sure I have a strong opinion.

While I think it’s great that Southwest is supporting writers, I have to say that this isn’t exactly what I was expecting when Southwest described this as a brand film. My understanding is that a brand film is supposed to be a video that sells (even if subtly) the lifestyle of a brand by telling a story that connects the audience to the brand’s core message.

I can appreciate the general travel connection here, though I’d say this is also one of the most abstract brand films I’ve seen. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but rather just unconventional.

I’m not saying a brand film has to directly be about the company, as you’ll find in Lufthansa’s brand film back in the day (which is also ridiculously cheesy)…

But I was expecting something more along the lines of British Airways’ video about traveling to see family, which I’d describe as somewhere between an ad and a brand film (and which I won’t watch this time, because it makes me cry every single time, damnit!).

Let me be clear — I’m not suggesting that makes the short film any less-good, it’s just not necessarily the content I was expecting from an airline. There are lots of amazing short films out there, and I only bothered to watch this because it was coming from an airline. So it just surprised me… that’s all.

Bottom line

Southwest Airlines has a new brand film, named “Alone in Tombstone.” This was created based on a story that won a writing contest that Southwest held, which was then turned into a film. It’s a cute concept, but if you’re going to watch it, don’t expect much of an airline connection.

What do you make of “Alone in Tombstone?”