AirTran Brings Insanely Obnoxious Seat-Back Advertising To The US
Seat-back ads have finally arrived in the US, with low cost carrier AirTran being the first to embrace what is already beloved onboard European LCCs like Ryanair and EasyJet.
Soon, passengers on all AirTran flights will be confronted for the entire trip by a 2.5" by 9" poster, sitting a few feet from their eyes, trying to worm its way into their eyeballs. It will be present on all 138 jets, and the first advertiser is an odd one: Mother Nature Network, a "one-stop resource and an everyman's eco-guide" for environmental news, travel, lifestyle, etc. MNN will use the ads to publicize a 7-night cruise giveaway as well—how eco-friendly of them. Hmm...
We understand the rational argument, which is that ads help AirTran defray the cost of flying and allows them to pass savings on to customers. And in an environment where consumers are trained to let their eyes glaze over when confronted by commercials and billboards, we also understand why advertisers think they need to force people to look at their products. Ambient advertising is the future and there's no avoiding that.
But can we just say this: we resent the hell out of paying money for a service and then having the servicer use the opportunity to assail us with ads.
[Photo: JosephBarillari / Wiki Commons]
Related Stories:
· Coffee, Tea or My Ad? [CNBC]
· Airline News [Jaunted]
· AirTran [Jaunted]
Comments (0)
Post a CommentReturn to » AirTran Brings Insanely Obnoxious Seat-Back Advertising To The US
Join the conversation!