Basically, ads for an airline called Derrie-Air were placed in the two largest Philadelphia newspapers. The ads touted the airline's "green" qualities and motto - Pack less. Weigh Less. Pay Less. The concept being that you only pay for the weight you need to fly. Kate Moss? $125 for you. John Goodman? Take out a personal loan.
Derrie-Air also claimed they were planting trees to offset every last carbon emission their flights produced. How environmentally conscience of them!
Both newspapers are owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings. The "ads" were produced by Gyro Worldwide, who just happens to do the advertising for PMH. If you haven't yet figured it out, the airline is a fake.
The reactions to the ads ran the gamut. Some people didn't even realize it was an intentional placement. They chided PMH for the "gaff" of actually running FPO ads. Others were actually appalled and felt the need to question the ethics of newspapers. A good number of people were able to take it in stride and have a laugh about it, however they didn't realize the actual goal of the ads.
Most reports on it have claimed that the ads were for market reasearch - PMH wanted to test the response rates to their ads. This isn't exactly true. The actual plan was that this week, Derrie-Air could do this - turn around, out itself, and say, "Hey, see how much buzz and traffic advertising in PMH papers drums up? Maybe you should buy ads!"
I have to say, it might be my favorite thing Gyro has ever done. The idea behind the "scam" is pretty solid. People don't believe what we tell them, so let's actually show them our products - PMH online and newspaper advertising - in action. It's definitely worked to create PR and news about the company. Whether it will actually bring in ad sales remains to be seen.
7/10: Das Great Ad
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