Nowadays the flying experience is often compared to herding cattle, economy is often referred to as “cattle class,” etc. Well, for the first time I can recall, an airline is really going with that as the basis for an ad.
WestJet is known for their creative ads, in particular their April Fools’ videos and their Christmas videos. Well, now they’ve released a new ad that should be broadcast widely on Canadian television through the end of the year.
WestJet’s latest advertising campaign focuses on their commitment to treating people like people, and it features a whole bunch of cattle. They highlight how they’re Canada’s most punctual airline, how they don’t overbook, and how they’ve won awards for their customer service.
As Richard Bartrem, WestJet’s VP of Marketing Communications, explains:
“We want the traveling public to know that as we become a global network carrier, we will never lose sight of the caring WestJet touch. Travel can be unpredictable and this campaign represents how we will always try to put ourselves in our guests shoes by delivering the caring guest experience that has made WestJet stand out from the herd.”
WestJet worked with Rethink on this ad, and Christina Yu, Managing Partner at Rethink, had the following to say:
“We wanted to playfully show how travel can feel when other airlines don’t treat people with the same attention and care that WestJet does. We have experienced first-hand what sets WestJet apart from the competition and we love how this campaign challenges the norms in the industry.”
You can check out the 60 second ad here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isOwg1x9-rg
Then you can have a behind the scenes look at how the ad was created here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC_YuQzl-EA
It’s a cute ad in, in my opinion. Air Canada also recently released a fun ad, though the focus on that was on how to travel like a Canadian. You can check out that ad here:
What do you make of WestJet’s new ad? Do you prefer the Air Canada or WestJet ad?
Personally, I find this ad offensive as it implies that humans are of a higher stature and class than animals, which I disagree with.
Love the new ad and am so happy to see the cows were the priority during filming!
I like both ads, but I have to give the nod to the Air Canada spot. Very Canadian, indeed.
WestJet articles on OMAAT deserve a tag. It's high time this was done. This is too important an airline to be grouped under Other Airlines.
Good one, eh?
Not new. AirTran did this before Southwest bought them. It was clearly a dig at Southwest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6DdDlPT4Uc
Have you never heard of the Calgary Stampede ?