Company News, Media, BP
Early this week, discount airline Spirit Airlines roused controversy with a web promotion that made light of the Gulf Coast oil spill. Within a day, the ad was pulled from Spirit's site and the notoriously offensive airline responded to criticism with a semi-apologetic press release.
In the original ad, Spirit exhorted readers to "Check Out the Oil on Our Beaches." Lest anybody miss the message, the ad also featured bottles of sunscreen printed in yellow and green, with the name "Best Protection." Get it, BP (BP)?
When called on the mat, the company offered a response that hearkens back to grade school. Using the "we're innocent; if you saw something offensive, it's because you have a dirty mind" gambit, the company stated "It is unfortunate that some have misunderstood our intention with today's beach promotion. We are merely addressing the false perception that we have oil on our beaches, and we are encouraging customers to support Florida and our other beach destinations by continuing to travel to these vacation hot spots." The company then reiterated its original point: "The only oil you'll find when traveling to our beaches is sun tan oil."
On the surface, Spirit's argument holds a little bit of water. After all, the company is headquartered in Miramar, Fla. Located on the eastern coast of the state, it has yet to be hit with oil from the BP spill. The same is also true of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, both of which are major markets for the airline.
But, given Spirit's long history of tacky, sleazy ads, its defense stretches credibility. The company prides itself on its offensive ad campaigns, and the controversy that they generate are a central part of its business plan.
Viral Marketing for 12-Year-Olds
In 2006, Spirit's first edgy ad, "Hunt for Hoffa," featured an online video game in which players tried to find the body of the slain labor leader. The campaign, which was designed to promote a $39 fare sale, was quickly inundated with complaints, and Spirit pulled it within hours of its debut.
Recognizing that making fun of mob victims may have been in poor taste, Spirit decided to tread water in the relatively safe shallows of smutty double-entendres. Its next sale promised "Many islands, low fares." The ad featured the acronym "MILF," superimposed on a map that showed the outline of a reclining woman. For fans of American Pie -- not to mention various news programs and media pundits -- the dual meaning of "MILF" was clear and, once again, Spirit found itself swimming in free publicity.
Needless to say, the feedback inspired Spirit to pursue greater. . .heights. In 2008, the airline resurrected its "MILF" promotion, along with a campaign that announced "We're Having a Threesome!" offering "three sales in one." Earlier this year, Spirit took the jokes a step further with ads promising MUFF (Many Unbelievable Fantastic Fares) "to DIVING destinations." Get it, Beavis?
In 2008, Spirit also launched its first attempt to use oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico as a selling point. Its "Offshore Drilling" ad campaign managed the neat trick of linking cheap flights, cheap sex and cheap gasoline in a stunning display of... well, cheapness. Featuring the comely curves of a bikini-clad swimmer juxtaposed against an oil derrick, the ad proclaimed "We Believe in Offshore Drilling." Lest dirty-minded viewers think that the ad was about -- gasp! -- sex, the commercial's copy went on to assure readers that "We believe in offshore drilling and other plans that will help keep fares low for you." Like, um, windmills and... stuff.
Doesn't Play Well With Others
Every so often Spirit leaves its adolescent humor comfort zone in order to humiliate others. While the Hoffa campaign taught it that mocking dead people can backfire, there isn't any rule about going after people who are above ground. Before the "Oil on our beaches" promotion, the best example of Spirit's attempts to target others was probably the "Eye of the Tiger" ad campaign, which capitalized on Tiger Woods's woes. Featuring a baseball-cap clad tiger behind the wheel of a wrecked SUV, the ads promised $9 fares.
Sometimes, Spirit even combines sex and business, as in its attack on Virgin airlines. Last year, the competing carrier launched direct flights to Fort Lauderdale from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Feeling the competition, Spirit announced that "We're No Virgin: We've Been Cheap and Easy For Years!" Take that, Richard Branson!
Bad Taste, Better Profits
When it comes to smutty ads, it isn't all just "fun and gams" for the folks at Spirit. While the airline's ads have earned it a reputation for bad taste, they've also helped it save a lot of money on advertising. According to CEO Ben Baldanza, the company's "edgy, viral marketing" was so effective that Spirit was able to cut advertising expenses by 80% between 2006 and 2009.
At the same time, Spirit has also cut services to customers, becoming the first company to charge for water and checked bags. Like the flyer's ads, its cheapness has drawn sharp criticism. In one case, Baldanza replied to a complaint by telling a customer-service representative that "we owe [the customer] nothing as far as I'm concerned. Let him tell the world how bad we are. He's never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny."
BP, you're not alone: Spirit Airlines has just stepped up with the latest bad PR decision having to do with the oil spill disaster in the Gulf.
The airline has launched an ad on its website making light of one of the biggest environmental crises of our time.
(Thanks to @LaughMom for bringing this to our attention)
The promo invites you to "Check out the oil on our beaches," then follows up with shots of beautiful women on the beach, drenched in suntanning oil.
It's hard to imagine a way for Spirit Airlines to piss off more people than it did with the decision to start charging for carry-on bags, but we think this might do it.
The ad -- like past ones -- has caused some to question if the airline is trying to be cute or just drum up free publicity by creating a controversy.
Tuesday afternoon, the airline launched a "Check Out The Oil On Our Beaches" plus get $50 off promotion. An email advertising the deal featured four women in bikinis lathered in sun-tanning oil who are supposed to be in four of the Florida-based airline's beach resorts: Atlantic City, New Jersey; Cancun, Mexico; Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
"Check out the oil on our beaches. You won't be disappointed," the promotion read. "Plus, we're making it cheaper for you to get there!"
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But before anybody had a chance to digest this and see if it was funny or just exploiting the news about BP's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico -- you know, another type of oil washing up on the beach -- the airline put out a statement.
"It is unfortunate that some have misunderstood our intention with today's beach promotion," the airline said. "We are merely addressing the false perception that we have oil on our beaches, and we are encouraging customers to support Florida and our other beach destinations by continuing to travel to these vacation hot spots."
The strange thing is that the pseudo-apology came out just a little more than an hour after the sale was announced. If anybody was upset, they sure moved quickly.
"It's more shameful advertising from Spirit that comes on the heels of another questionable campaign regarding its own pilots' strike titled "*Strikingly* Low Fares" with an image of a bowling ball knocking down pins," Anne Banas, executive editor of travel Web site SmarterTravel told ABC News late Tuesday afternoon. "Not only does Spirit seem insensitive to its own employees, but it certainly doesn't put its customers first. Case in point: Spirit's devolving refund policy during the strike. Plus, these sales themselves aren't very great, and the only value seems to be shock value."
BP, you're not alone: Spirit Airlines has just stepped up with the latest bad PR decision having to do with the oil spill disaster in the Gulf. The airline has launched an ad on its website making light of one of the biggest environmental crises of our time.
(Thanks to @LaughMom for bringing this to our attention)
The promo invites you to "Check out the oil on our beaches," then follows up with shots of beautiful women on the beach, drenched in suntanning oil.
It's hard to imagine a way for Spirit Airlines to piss off more people than it did with the decision to start charging for carry-on bags, but we think this might do it.
Spirit Airlines' Tasteless New Ad Mocks The Oil Spill Crisis
BP, you're not alone: Spirit Airlines has just stepped up with the latest bad PR decision having to do with the oil spill disaster in the Gulf. The airline has launched an ad on its website making light of one of the biggest environmental crises of our time.(Thanks to @LaughMom for bringing this to our attention)
The promo invites you to "Check out the oil on our beaches," then follows up with shots of beautiful women on the beach, drenched in suntanning oil.
It's hard to imagine a way for Spirit Airlines to piss off more people than it did with the decision to start charging for carry-on bags, but we think this might do it.
If you havent reached out to me – please do so! I would love to see to it that you are taken care of. Love, Heather Sr. Manager, Customer Relations & Luggage Resolution Spirit Airlines 
March 15th, 2009 at 6:28 pm Spirit Airlines,
I’m writing this letter to file a complaint about a recent flight that I had to change because of a medical emergency. The flight was from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale. My wife was supposed to fly in from Manchester, England to Orlando then to Fort Lauderdale. She became deadly sick with a stomach bug that was highly contagious. She first called Virgin to change her flight; they were courteous and thoughtful and helped us make the changes with no problem, as long as she had a doctor’s note. Then came Spirit airlines. We informed your airlines of the situation and that if she did fly she would have put all other passengers at risk of getting the stomach virus. You really didn’t try to help or care at all. All you wanted was $110 to cancel or change my ticket. I informed your customer service that my wife was still going to fly with Spirit but just not till she was not contagious any more. Still all I heard was you needed $110. I guess it doesn’t matter that we were doing you a favor and protecting your passengers or that the ticket only was for $76 in the first place. It seems other airlines put their passengers first but in your case it’s all about the money. My wife is flying today 03/10/09 with a clean bill of health, unfortunately we had to book with Spirit airlines again only to find out that the price is now $142 one way. Is there any way that something can be done about this unpleasant situation.
Sincerely, John Pollio
e-mail: jnpollio@bellsouth.net
March 27th, 2009 at 4:25 am SPIRIT HAS LOW FARES BECAUSE THEY DONT CHARGE THE CHANGE FEE IN THE THE TICKET PRICE LIKE VIRGIN DOES FOR ALL ITS PASSENGERS – SPIRIT ONLY CHARGES THE ONES WHO CHANGE THE FEE, OTHER PASSENGERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HTE LOW FARES WHICH SEEMS WORE FARE THAN CHARGING EVERYONE FOR SOMETHING THEY DONT NEED
April 26th, 2009 at 8:30 pm I enjoyed a gorgeous spring break in Florida with my family last week. However, all of that warm sunshine was ruined Tuesday morning when we tried to return. We arrived 40 minutes early because our driver was delayed and were told that we could no longer proceed to the gate. We waited in line for another 20 minutes to see what our options were. At that time we were told that we would have to rebook for the next day and pay an additional fare of $130 – meaning that the tickets we had already paid for would not be honored. I suggested that my husband who had work meetings go ahead and see if he could make the flight. He made it.
Waiting an extra day was not an option for my son and I. He had already missed an extra day of school and I had meetings at work. So we had to rebook through JetBlue at a cost of $686 for both tickets.
In the meantime, my husband made his flight. He told me that when he got to the gate, they were calling the standby passengers. Here is my complaint:
1. Spirit did not give us options. They merely said that we would have to rebook. Since it was just an issue of the luggage, we could have made other arrangements, but nothing was offered.
2. There were about 20 other people in line – a number who had luggage that would have been able to pass as carry ons. It appears that Spirit is doing this to boost ticket sales. They not only saved the cost of our original ticket. They wanted us to buy another ticket. AND they sold the tickets we paid for to standby passengers.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:40 am you would not have this problem if you where ontime for your flight – 45 minutes is the cut off – this fair for the other passengers that want the flight to leave on-time…
July 25th, 2009 at 11:01 am I noticed you work for Spirit airlines, you forgot to mention that didnt you. You need to show up 2-3 hrs with spirit or they will give your ticket away, read all the entries/blogs from thousands of customers-Fred and stop blaming one person for what thousands of others have also had to deal with. Spirit treats passengers like cattle!
February 10th, 2010 at 8:41 pm That stinks that that happened to you. I don’t think Spirit is alone though. It’s just a business. Their bottom line is to make money. Of course they try to treat their customers well to an extent, but any chance they have to make more money I would expect them to take it!
March 6th, 2010 at 11:37 am SPIRIT AIR MASTERCARD CREDIT CARD
Ive never had more confusion and hassles in trying to close this account. For 15 minutes the non-english speaking (but very nice) account rep tried to get me to keep my account open. From waiving the $39/annual fee FOREVER to lowering the annual interest rate of 30.24%(REDICULOUS)…all in vain…once Im done, Im Done!
The bad news is I am a great customer. I signed up for this card to get airline miles. I currently have 17K miles in my balance and since they they closed the account, I was told I would lose all of my miles which I believe is illegal of the company. The miles were never transferred to my Spirit Air miles account and the different divisions couldnt verify where my miles were or anything regarding my miles.
SO REALLY SPIRIT AIR?? Where’s some help for a customer who takes more time from my day to fly your airline instead of a direct non-stop flight to Orlando on another airline and only saving 60-75$ and taking 5 hours longer…
OK, I know you get the point. Now please get me other points back and posted to my Spirit Air Account.
David Wilson
Atlanta, GA
March 2nd, 2011 at 11:00 pm I had an 8:58 flight to Ft Myers from Detroit. I arrived at the airport at 7:20. Had prepaid for my bag and already printed my boarding pass, but still had to wait in the full line to check my bag. The line stretched down past about three other airlines check in stations.
When we got closer, they split out Ft Myers and Orlando – Orlando was leaving 9 minutes later, but they got the “go directly to the counter”, line while Ft Myers got the longer, “rope maze” line.
They had at least 5 check-in stations, but only 2 people working most of the time. Either the workers or the PCs are very slow… 3-5 minutes per person just to print out a sticker for the bag.
As we got even closer, we found they were letting people walk up from the side and check in ahead of everyone!
Finally got up there, checked in, gave them my bag, ran down to the gate…. just in time to see the plane pull away.
When we got back to check-in to rebook, the agent had the audacity to ask the person in front of me (who was in the same boat I was in) why she had missed her flight.
From what I’ve heard, Spirit is like this every day. The last time I flew with them, they had only one person working (but 2 working the booth to sell credit cards) and let anyone who had paid for a seat (they charge if you want to pre-select your seat, even middle seats) cut ahead.
Wasted over 150 miles of driving and gas going back and forth to the airport.
Never again will I fly Spirit. Delta is a much better choice, even if they end up costing more… almost never a line (check in at a kiosk, walk up with your bag, takes them about 30 seconds). Plus they give you a soda or juice, pretzels or peanuts, and water on the flight. I know that costs them all of $1, but I appreciate the little things at this point. Spirit makes you pay for water.
Oh, good news for those with Spirit credit cards though – apparently they get to skip to the front of the line for check-in.