Southwest Airlines surprises everyone with a Super Bowl ad that pokes fun at itself
Southwest Airlines is set to showcase a new ad during Sunday's big game, poking fun at its chaotic, controversial, and now-defunct open seating policy. The 30-second spot that will run during Peacock's Super Bowl stream shows the airline isn't afraid to admit the policy's failures that brought uncertainty and inconvenience by pitting flyers against time and each other to get the best seats possible. The ad, "Boarding Royale," was filmed in August, and the Dallas-based airline released it four days ahead of the Super Bowl.
The 30-second ad will run during the Super Bowl stream and be featured on local cable channels in six regions, including San Diego, Chicago, Denver, Austin, Dallas, and Honolulu. The spot takes viewers on a nostalgic trip of its 55-year open seating policy, portraying an exaggerated version of the race that took place between passengers to sit next to their travel companions, get a window seat, or check in early enough to get to the front of the boarding group.
It takes place in a forest, where numerous flyers rush to their seats, each carrying luggage. As the announcement says, "Southwest boarding begins now," the travellers frantically run to grab a seat, while climbing trees, scaling the terrain, and even hanging from vines. "I thought you checked us in last night?" asks a woman of her fellow traveller. "I was one minute late," the man traveling with her replied.
The clip also features a woman swinging on a tree vine while screaming, people knocking each other out of the way, travellers creating dummies to block seats, and more. In the end, the text reads "That was wild" before cutting to a peaceful couple taking their seats on a flight. With the calm backdrop, the text, "Assigned seating is here," appears on the screen. As per the official press release from the airline, the ad "celebrates" the new assigned seating model while "clapping back to the days of open seating."
The ad was created by Southwest and its agency partner GSD&M, and it is directed by Biran Billow, as per ADWEEK. “The challenge on this one was, how do you announce news that is essentially a category norm?” Julia Melle, director of brand and content for Southwest, told the publication. She then explained that the only way to do it was with a sense of humility and a sense of humour, while maintaining the essence of the brand.
Southwest operated an open seating policy where passengers got their seats on a first-come, first-served basis for over five decades. The policy was scrapped after COVID-19 when consumer sentiment shifted, with people wanting to pick or reserve their seats with upgrades like extra baggage space or legroom, regardless of the extra cost, Melle said. “It was fun for us to take these insights and some of this Hunger Games-esque behavior that people demonstrated in our open seating policy and just exaggerate it,” she shared with the publication. She added that the ad pays sort of an ode to the old policy while showing excitement for what's to come.
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