cerealmarketer

Yeah having watched all of them they are well executed as ads - though I have to say the Wifi one is a year too early. It will be great when it's on over half the fleet, but that's one I'm worried will disenchant folks who act on what they see in the ad this fall. Service standards are subjective. Wifi availability is binary.

RandomBaritone

A brilliant strategy, solidly executed. I wish humor were a part of it -- I'm a huge fan of the subtly cheeky tone of DL's new safety videos, for example -- but otherwise, bravo! Anything to remind me of United's heyday is a positive step.

I'm fascinated at the depth of cynicism on display here. As another poster asked, why would someone with such animosity toward a company continue to give them their business?

FlyWorld

I found the orchestra video to be the most distressing of the set because of its emphasis on UA being a finely tuned machine where everyone is working together and in concert to deliver a good customer experience.

There is no assertion in this campaign that is more false than that assertion, and there is no issue that's of greater importance, because the failure to execute anything in an orchestrated manner is a result of the massive system failures coupled with the "there's nothing I can do" attitude.

So, that clip, in particular, lies in the biggest way about the greatest weaknesses of the organization that Jeff has created.

RealFan

Just watched all the ads. I loved them all. Although as a GS I recognize that my treatment is not representative of the general MP member, I have been pleased with recent interactions and am hoping for the trend to continue.

pauljacobson958

I like the videos too. CEOs of public-facing companies are always easy targets, especially in the airline world. I think it's really important for a CEO to step on stage and tell the company's story by talking about the things they are accomplishing, or trying to accomplish. I would argue that after financial and operational performance, communication is the next most important job for a CEO. Plus, the CEO is only only part of the videos. While he usually launches them, most of the content is about UA employees in action or behind the scenes operations. I like that.

It will be interesting to see how United integrates the on-board videos with the new branding campaign.

BearX220

The only one of the four spots that is honest is the taxis-of-the-world one, which promises nothing but network breadth. The other spots are either unhinged, non-credible fantasy depictions of the United experience ("Orchestra," "Built Around You") or misleadingly portray a limited, unreliable service offering as ubiquitous and satifying ("Wi-Fi").

They're all beautifully directed and photographed and they raise the tone of the brand, but like "Rising," they accentuate the gulf between what they promise and what United actually does to you.

Say what you will about the Sutherland-voiced DL campaign (and it has its flaws as well), it acknowledges the stress and difficulty that come with air travel today for most people. The DL spots are gritty and reality-rooted. They don't promise so much except that Delta will keep trying. I tend to believe them. The UA spots promise the back-of-the-bus 767 experience will be soothing and serene like a symphony orchestra, and other things that make you do an incredulous Danny Thomas spit-take.

Built around me? Who believes that?

aacharya

Curious to hear what you thought of the NZ ad campaigns, if basis in reality is your only factor for determination of a successful ad.

adagio

I like the ads, and I like that they are rolling out a positive, well-done presence. My last year or more of experience has not been that bad. No long phone waits, a few delayed flights, generally fine, civil, or even friendly interactions, meal orders always prioritized. Called on my cell phone by the gate to make a delayed flight that was leaving earlier than planned. Not perfect---don't like those 763s on the IAH-LHR run---but not an unmitigated disaster either, or even close to one. Just one data point, I realize, and I also know experiences may vary.

Good job on the ads, though.

goodeats21

^
I almost ordered one the other day...just to see what the reaction would be. Might try it this weekend...

I thought of this as well. Ballet...now orchestra.

A neat metaphor, but woefully dis-congruent when we hear of the UA travelers being stranded in far away places for days...experience frequent delays on the tarmac with no ground crew to marshal in the plane...absolutely no coordination with 50% of their flights (UAX) when posting delays, etc.

The last impression I get of United is a coordinated orchestra. Improvisational comedy is a much more accurate description.


I am softening a bit on the "is this premature" aspect of the campaign. It may provide some common mission attributes for internal staff, which is sorely needed. I noticed an up-tick in attitude when the consolidated, updated uniforms debuted. There may be some bounce with this type of campaign. It may have been better to launch this as an internal campaign for a bit before rolling it out to the customer base....

BearX220

Don't confuse literal reality with truth and believability.

uastarflyer

I've done those early morning, morning or late night airport taxi runs in Asia, Australia, and Europe, so that ad hit home. And yes, I was always flying UNITED.

It's really difficult to complain about PMUA elements being brought back. The more the merrier.

The only way the vast majority of customers would agree with "friendly" though is if the PMUA 1P experience could be replicated for all in Y, and the 1K + more in C/F.

To be specific, even if the cabin becomes friendly the ground experience has become pretty miserable, and elites aren't spared like they used to be.

zcat18

Full disclosure: I did not read the entire thread.

Lots of discussion. It's nice to have some vestige of the old United back, and for crying out loud, it's nice to see actual *United* ads, instead of those gawdawful Chase credit card commercials that make me want to break something whenever I see them. It's still a far cry from the animation artwork we were treated to in the late '90s and early 2000s.

Another observation: I find it interesting that they did not use a 787 in the orchestra commercial (looks like they went with a 767).

uastarflyer

I had the same thought. Perhaps it wouldn't look as good in the narrower 787 seats.

tuolumne

I wonder if these were the old commercials & ad campaign we heard talked about last year as having been temporarily shelved due to the ops meltdown. If so, it would make sense why they filmed a then-new 2-class 767-300.

I would like to see them show off their flagship product, however - the United First Suite.

eflyte

Is it just me or is UAL getting seriously pimped by the Times recently? This has got to be the 3rd or 4th article in which they have featured prominently in the past month or so...

FWIW I like the commercial. And about 2/3 of the people I interact w/ a United are friendly. I think Meatloaf said that ratio ain't bad...