JetBlue's Happy B.S.

Well, that didn't take long to come apart at the seams. Turns out all the noise made back in May about JetBlue's Happy Jetting campaign and them wanting to "put the humanity back into air travel" was really just a lot of hot air.

What am I talking about? Yesterday, JetBlue announced that they are now charging people $7 for a blanket and a pillow. Their spin on it:

“Replacing our old, recycled pillows and blankets with this state-of-the-art, high-quality take-home kit is an eco-conscious, health-conscious and customer-conscious decision,”

Brett Muney, General Manager of Product Development for JetBlue Airways

Now let's take a look back at some words from an Ad Age article and JetBlue's press release about the Happy Jetting campaign when it launched...

"This is much more than just an ad campaign, it's a brand campaign because it speaks to what the core of JetBlue is. It's executable across every touch point for crew members and customers."

"Aviation is a particularly tough industry right now, but we definitely see a place for optimism in the parts that we control, like our customer service and our product. Happy Jetting captures the approach and attitude to service of our more than 12,000 crewmembers. So if even the best laid travel plans go awry, Happy Jetting is about how we deal with them and how we find solutions."

Andrea Spiegel, Vice President of Marketing for JetBlue Airways

"JetBlue is a brand that has been built on great customer experience and word of mouth about that experience. Happy Jetting is an idea that transcends advertising. It is a way of capturing that experience and articulating it across every conceivable medium,"

Ty Montague, JWT President/Chief Creative Officer.

Hmmmm. Looks like we should play a game of "One of these things is not like the other."

They can try to spin it from every angle possible as to why it's a good idea - it's "the green thing to do," people get to keep them once they buy them, there's a $5 coupon in the package for Bed, Bath & Beyond... Whatever. It doesn't matter. At the end of the day, this isn't in line with "putting the humanity back into air travel."

The thing is, a good solution was right around the corner. Instead of charging people for blankets and pillows, sell the opportunity to have branded blankets and pillows to Bed, Bath & Beyond. Or Target. Or whoever. Take whatever money the pillows and blankets were costing and charge another company that amount or more to provide them for your customers. It's a win-win-win situation.

JetBlue lives up to their brand promise and covers or more than covers the costs of the blankets and pillows; another brand gets a chance to make a positive impression on unsuspecting customers by making sure JetBlue customers get to keep using a pillow and blanket for free; the customer doesn't feel like they're being squeezed for every last cent for something they already don't like doing and are trying to avoid more and more (dealing with air travel).

One of the major reasons people have grown to distrust advertising is because of companies promising something to try to win them over but then not delivering on it in the end. JetBlue just gave us a fine example of this.

It has always been true, but in today's hyper-connected world it's more important than ever - don't make promises you can't keep.

Happy Branding.

Comments

[Paul]

So true. I'm sure loads of brands would have jumped at the chance to be associated with them. Timely post, I just wrote today about Irish airline Aer Lingus that talk (in tv ads) about the little things that matter and then make their customers 'opt out' of insurance charges on their website - "Aer Lingus thinks it's ok to sell insurance through sneaky practices?" http://www.pauldervan.com/2008/08/aer-lingus-thinks-its-ok-to-sell.html

[Dion Hughes]

that's a punishing post but i'm afraid i have to agree. it's related to something i wrote - in fact maybe my first ever blog post - about the hero curse, which is to say this is all the more disappointing coming from a brand so many wanted to like. their attempt at twisting it to green just makes it worse.
i think your alt suggestions are interesting... i even wonder though how it even got to this place... surely just adding the seven dollars to the fare, or finding somewhere else to put that money where it didn't come across so patently and leading edge petty.
what a drag.

[xgeronimo]

so true. i think that in the future even big airlines will start adopting this practice (charging extra for extras that used to be not extras ;)

[Martina]

I love this post. It really demonstrates that consumers are in control, and marketers have to learn to play by the rules. No more bullsh**t. If we (marketers) promise something, we have to deliver. And a campaingn copyline is not just a copyline, it's a formal committment.

[Alan Wolk]

Ha! I had this down as a post to write next week-- but there's no point in repeating what you just wrote.

In other words, I couldn't agree with you more. Those "Happy Jetting" ads are all over NYC too, and all I can think of is "for the price of a $7 blanket fee, you've effectively negated the entire positive brand image you've built up over the last 5 or so years.

Truly amazing in its short-sightedness.

Your suggestion for branded blankets is a sound one and as I wrote last month, it amazed me that airlines can't see their way to think of these things on their own. (I was suggesting that instead of charging for baggage, they jack up the fare another $25-$40 and then issue a "green credit" for people not checking bags. Pretty simple and doesn't seem punitive.)

And our friend Mr. Hughes makes an excellent point about hero brands too and the disappointment we feel when they turn out to have clay feet.

[gregorylent]

hell, put ads on the overhead bins, on the carpet, the seat upholstery ... any square inch of the cabin that is without an ad, is wasted!

have the cabin attendants look like formula 1 drivers, have the airplane look like a formula 1 car!

make it so that you have to view an ad before you buy your ticket online, like bloomberg does!

so many possiblities! play loud music and then sell (branded) ear plugs!

brand the window shades!

charge for carry-on luggage!

go team!

[paul]

Gregory - Thanks for taking time to leave a comment. Next time, try actually saying something worthwhile that adds value to the conversation.

[Whitney Hess]

Air travel will soon be a choose-your-own-adventure experience.

Bathroom pass - $10 per flush
Room in the overhead compartment - $10/bag
Seat cushion - $50 (otherwise sit on cardboard)
Barf bag - $5

At least I can bring my own blanket and pillow on board.

[Elizabeth Talerman]

Sadly, I had to purchase one of these pillow and blankee sets on a recent trip. I've got a bad back and flying is intolerable without a bit of support. I was insensed and especially so given the Happy Jetting brand promise. Brands need to understand that they must lead with behavior first. This Jet Blue nonsense is a direct parallel to the recent Apple spot showing PC guy counting out his advertising money vs the money he's going to apply against fixing Vista. Brands that link their positioning directly to their behavior are the brands that will win.