Could companies find something new about Boston to use in ads?
Stephen Laniel ponders Virgin America's new ads, which show a series of Communist-style clenched fists and proclaim "Another revolution comes to Boston" and wonders if companies could find something else to use in their local ads for a change:
... I've been griping about this for a while. Naturally, Virgin Atlantic is not going to advertise its flights as "like Boston's busing crisis - only without the flagpole-stabbings!" I understand this. Still, though: I'm asking for some originality. ... Bostonians don't look up at your signs and think "Oh hell yes! An American Revolution joke! It's funny because it's true!" They don't pull a three-cornered hat out of their closets, dust it off, and drive their Priuses to Concord for the annual re-enactment. ...
Comments
Whats ironic is that its a
Whats ironic is that its a British company coming to town using it, maybe they were looking for the irony factor?
Im sure they will be fine, after all the Virgin brand does great in Boston. Back in the 80's they introduced Virgin soda in local stores and never looked back, and I havent been to the Virgin record store on Newbury for a while but Im sure they are doing just fine...
Actually ... They're not
Actually ...
They're not doing just fine - they're not even there any more and havent been for - what? - a year or two ...
It's Best Buy now.
Turn up your sarcasm meter
I think he knew that and was being facetious.
Virgin America
I think these ads are for Virgin America.
I'm pretty sure Richard Branson is only a minority partner in the company and therefore a separate company than Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Megastores.
Virgin Hub
Elite universities, full with students who spent all their time studying and checking-off extracurriculars for their college applications... with no time for anything else...
Well, actually ...
Come April 19th I might just dust off my old tricon and ride the trusty Prius out to Concord (my hometown). :-)
Virgin AMERICA
FranklinRider is exactly right. Virgin America is a majority-owned American company - as it has to be to be certificated as a U.S. domestic air carrier. The accusation that it is a subsidiary or spinoff of Virgin Atlantic is just wrong, and gave rise, in part, to some of Sir Richard Branson's antics at Logan last week. Alaska Airlines accused Virgin America of not being American enough (in an ownership sense) to operate as a domestic carrier. Branson wanted to make a point that Virgin America was an American operation - hence the Uncle Sam drag outfit and the American flags tucked into his "mantyhose". A little over the top perhaps, but you have to like the way he called Alaska Airlines out on it - in front of pretty much the entire Boston media establishment. Now, if we could only get someone to call out the Boston media establishment like that, we'd be in business.
Anyway, I thought it was a nice touch that Virgin America designated the inaugural flight from SFO-BOS as Flight no. 1776. They also have a great product, which every other carrier operating on the BOS-LAX and BOS-SFO routes (excepting perhaps JetBlue) is about to find out to its cost (the legacy carriers are toast).
I also think their ads are cool, and the fact that there was a posting about them on Universal Hub shows they are doing what they are supposed to. The party at the Liberty Hotel last Wednesday was sweet, too.
I say our fair city could use a few more Virgin-type businesses. As Branson says: "screw it, let's do it."
So Branson is so concerned
So Branson is so concerned that we are associating it with his British company that he makes sure it uses the name Virgin, AND he becomes the face of it AND they use extreme but weird overt references to Americana. Their take on America obviously comes from a group of people looking from the outside in... Im not saying that it isnt an "American" company, Im just saying they are trying to have it both ways.