A Tale in Three Adverts

We can thank Dave Carroll and “United Breaks Guitars” for exposing the keen library of United videos on YouTube. Culling through them is like rummaging around in the old attic trunks of the airline industry. There are little slices of United history for every generation from the 1950’s to 9/11 to now. I’ve selected three to show here. All were produced within 2-3 years following the 9/11 attacks.

This first one, “We Are United” (#1), has been popular on YouTube and seems to have brought about alot of empathy for the airline and its people in the aftermath of 9/11. The simple strength of the message speaks for itself — twelve United employees talk very positively about their jobs and love of flying. It should make you want to fly, right? These people love their jobs! Only once, at the end, do we hear “We are United,” but we already knew it:

In this next video (“We Are United” #2), the message becomes more convoluted. The first half of the ad shows various United people at work, but talks extensively about routes, schedules, fleet, lounges, and systems. (The tag line that most resonated with me in this ad occurs at 02:40: “What we are is who we are, from every corner of the United States and across the globe.”) But also in the video’s second half, we suddenly have no less than eighteen employees from around the world (some of whom don’t seem so enthusiastic) proclaiming “I am United.” Then at the tail end we have the incongruous addition of a Glenn Tilton Powerpoint slide that to me looked more like a prophetic epitaph:

“What we want is to create a company that is durable, sustainable and resilient over time.”

Glenn Tilton
December 12, 2002

How cynical is that statement, given that over 90% of the company’s shareholder value has been wiped out in the three years since United exited bankruptcy? But I digress:

In this last video, produced as an inflight promo, Glenn Tilton brings the “thanks-to-our-employees” message, even if he doesn’t actually appear on camera with any employees. (There’s a funny little bit of Glenn Tilton loneliness at 00:32, when he comes out of hiding from behind an airport sign.) I’d like to be proven wrong: Have there been any ads or promos done, in any media, where Tilton actually appears together with his employees? I don’t think so:

I grew up with all of the various “friendly skies” advertising campaigns (1965-1995). These still resonated with me when I sought employment with United barely one year prior to 9/11. The most recent Fallon and post-Fallon ad campaigns, with all of their lush imagery of dragons and sea creatures, are just empty to me, because they have nothing to do with the people and relationships who make the airline work. Interesting to look at perhaps, but that’s about as far as it goes. “It’s Time To Fly“? Really? United, you haven’t convinced me at all, and you won’t, until you once again shore up and show off your strongest asset — your employees.