The ads, via GSD&M, Austin, Texas, come on the heels of Southwest posting a 14% jump in first-quarter earnings to $24 million, its 48th consecutive quarterly profit. Southwest recently broke another campaign touting its position as "The Official Airline of the NBA". Southwest's media spend in 2002 was $133 million, up from $114 million in 2001, per CMR.
One spot breaking this week is set in a conference room where a man seems to be gushing loving compliments to a female co-worker next to him, she responds, only to learn that her colleague is wearing a phone earpiece and was talking to his wife.
Another spot shows a water delivery guy who, after making a house call, shoots a basketball and breaks a window while the homeowners are watching. A third shows a man being caught after his leaf blower spews debris onto his neighbor's freshly painted house. Each spot ends with the "Wanna get away" tag and also flashes the airlines Web address, which books half of Southwest's sales.
Southwest Airlines started off as a company with 3 planes serving 3 Texas cities. Today, it has over 300 planes serving 55 plus cities and has grown to become the 4th largest U.S. airline in terms of domestic customers carried. According to the 1999 Financial Statements, Southwest Airlines brought in a net income of $474.4 million in net income, $4.7 billion in total operating revenue, and carried a total of 57.5 million passengers during that year. It is now a member of the fortune 500 and is a common stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange. With over 2,700 flights a day flying 24 hours a day, the company's fleet has an average of 8.4 years and a cruising speed of 564 miles per hour. .
In order to better meet the demands of the customers, Southwest Airlines became the first airline to establish a home page on the Internet and now attribute more than 25% of its passenger revenue from its Internet site, www.southwest.com. After visiting the website, Southwest Airlines must be commended on an impressive number of customer options.