Copycat Branding Leaves Original Flattered, But Which Airline Wears It Better?
Jackie Reddy May 08, 2015
A copycat look has led to a bit of intercontinental banter between Scoot and Spirit Airlines, but who copied whom?
Singapore’s Scoot and Florida-based Spirit Airlines may operate on separate continents, but the recent banter between the carriers is a playful reminder that, even when it comes to branding, great minds really do think alike.
Back in September 2014, Spirit unveiled a new livery, sporting a unique look the airline believed would complement its bold branding. The striking color scheme — a yellow paint job accented with black trim — was meant to create an instantly recognizable brand in keeping with Spirit’s low-cost philosophy.
In a press statement at the time of the redesign, Spirit President and CEO Ben Baldanza said, “This new livery perfectly matches Spirit Airlines. It’s radically different … When you see this plane in the air — or on the ground — there will be no question that this is a Spirit plane.”
The problem, however, was that Spirit’s supposedly unique, “new” look was actually very similar to a livery and branding style already in use by Singaporean carrier Scoot, which launched in 2012.
Rather than file a lawsuit, Scoot took the undeniable similarities in stride, diffusing the situation with a bit of humor and ribbing the North American carrier by naming one of its planes Inspiring Spirit.
Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson took to Facebook to address the matter in a lighthearted video. In the video, Wilson walks through the carrier’s office, pointing out the various similarities between the two airlines. “We’ve noticed that a certain North American carrier… has been, well, inspired by our look,” says Wilson, quickly adding: “We’re not mad, we’re flattered.”
While Spirit Airlines has dismissed any similarities as coincidence, Wilson was keen to point out that, despite the parallels in branding, tone and advertising style, no one can replicate the Singaporean carrier’s unique philosophy, that special something — Scootitude!
[Photos: iStock; Spirit Airlines; Scoot]
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This is a dumb PR stunt. Spirit clearly copied Hapag-Lloyd Express, not Scoot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hapag-Lloyd_Express#/media/File:Boeing_737_hlx_D-AGER.jpg
Bad choice of photos to illustrate the point. The planes don't look similar at all, but the branding used in advertisements, their web sites, etc does. Bright yellow, cartoonish, funny slogans,... Check out there site flyscoot.com and it becomes more apparent...
They don't look remotely similar. What am I missing? Did someone pull the wrong stock photo?
They don't look similar to me. I would never confuse those two planes. The comparison to a flying Checker Cab though does actually capture the Spirit experience pretty well and a witty on the part of Spirit.