DBCme

Look, p.s service is good. But if an ice cream sundae is a perk worth including in a short commercial then there is a serious misunderstanding by management about what customers want when flying bizfirst. Show me the the focus group transcripts & customer feedback surveys where an ice cream sundae is what pulls people off the fence and onto a UA bird. The worst part is the suggestion this is what you would expect on an international flight. They should use caution mixing the two products...

SunLover

I made the mistake of clicking on the AA A321 promo video on the same page, which will be their new transcon service and direct competition to UA P.S. : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20zshmYxhLw

AA is going to a brand new generation of metal and 3 class hard product. UA is refurbing and removing F. Enough said?

And while were at it - doesn't the UA commercial look a lot like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw11W5ckmyg


SunLover

sinoflyer

B.D. Wong broke into Broadway as M. Butterfly in the 1980s. He is quite a talented actor.

I think your question is significant on several levels:
1) UA is obviously not going after the "with it," trendy-savvy crowd (like DL is) with an actor whom your generation cannot instantly recognize;
2) UA doesn't seem to be targeting its message to business travelers (like AA is) -- unless there are certain dog whistles in that commercial that I didn't hear;
3) Maybe UA is sending a message to Hollywood that two of their well-respected colleagues are endorsing UA. As an ordinary consumer, I am hardly impressed.

I have no idea what UA's target base is in this commercial. It's awful.

bob_the_d

haha yeah, on my facebook feed this ad came up and the post said:

"Here is an exclusive sneak peek of our new p.s.® Premium Service commercial. Enjoy international amenities in BusinessFirst®, including ice cream sundaes, between JFK and SFO or LAX."

it really does seem like the ice cream sundae is a focal point for whatever reason...

REPUBLIC757

Really obnoxious and tacky ad. And stupidly shot, considering you can't see the giant video screen until the very end.

I'm always down for a sundae but how about advertising more about the "4 course meal?"

Tennen

It could be the angle, but IMHO, it doesn't even remotely look like B.D. Wong...

chinatraderjmr

Just the word "BusinessFirst" is confusing to a non UA flyer seeing this commercial. So?? Is this a commercial for Business class or First class?

Who needs to be shot is not the person that came up with this commercial - its whatever genius came up with the name BusinessFirst.

rch4u

I find it humorous that an ice cream sundae is mentioned as a differentiating factor, despite the fact that most domestic transcons already serve them (... and most customers turn them down).

Wouldn't a fruit and cheese course be a real "international" experience?

cerealmarketer

He's going to bed without a pillow or blanket. Guess those are being cut.

But strange to be advertising the new seats when the reconfig isn't even half way done.

Not to mention the food and wine needs an upgrade to be competitive with Delta. And for $2-$3k roundtrip, yeah it better be like flying international - it's like that on AA and Delta too...

I'm guessing they took a couple lines they got verbatim from a focus group.

Someone in a couple focus groups said "it's like flying international" - 3 or 4 people nodded, another said "i like ice cream sundaes," a few more nodded, and the agency after struggling to find anything differentiating about PS decided to pitch those points.

Good luck getting a crew to wake you for the sundae either...

sinoflyer

I see the ramekin in the background, so I guess they also picked up warm nuts from the focus group.

fly747first

And p.s. will be perceived as even less luxurious once AA puts its new 3-class A321s on these routes.

unavaca

Ugh, what's with the blogspam on FT these days? You could have linked directly to Youtube.

milesmuncher

Gimme a break.

I wrote this post when I saw the info come out because I thought people who might not follow United on Facebook would still be interested in it. I then posted links to the post in all my usual places (Facebook, Twitter, Google+). And then I figured "hey, I bet people in the UA forum on FlyerTalk would be interested as well - let me see if anyone has posted it yet." No one had posted it yet, so I shared the link.

Yes, I could have gone back and pulled the YouTube link directly, but I already had my link copied. The ease of hitting "Ctrl+V" trumped my desire to placate those who think blogs can do no right. Seeing as you're the first one to complain, it doesn't seem like many other people really cared one way or another.

Feel free to post the direct link to YouTube if it upsets you that much.

unavaca

There are four complete sentences on the blogspam page, including the "What do you think?" and "Sorry Matt Damon" lines. I have no problems with blog posts that add content; blogspam posts are those that add little to no value to the content being quoted.

Here's the direct link to the actual Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptb8amWUK4Q

Unlike blogspam, I have no financial interest in any element on this page.

EWR764

I understand that, and for all the accolades mcgarrybowen has garnered, I have to say that this particular spot did not really live up to the hype. I guess money talks...