This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: IN AMERICA - IN THEATRES NOVEMBER 26 Fox Searchlight Pictures proudly presents IN AMERICA directed by Academy Award(R) Nominee Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot and In The Name of the Father). IN AMERICA stars Samantha Morton, Paddy Considine and Djimon Hounsou. For more info: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/inamerica \----------------------------------------------------------/ Advertising: A New Airline Called ’Ted’ November 21, 2003 By MICHELINE MAYNARD UNITED AIRLINES once talked about a low-fare airline as the only strategy that would lift it out of bankruptcy protection. But it unveiled a decidedly less extensive solution this week in an airline that it plans to call Ted. Ted, which will be based Denver, will take to the skies in February. United executives were doggedly peppy this week in their effort to convince fliers that Ted will be an entertaining experience. It is promising colorful (and free) audio headsets, special Ted beverages, and TedTV, featuring sitcoms and stand-up comics. The mayor of Denver even declared Ted Day in the airline's honor. Sean Donohue, vice president for United's low-cost operation, described Ted at a news conference in Denver as "warm, friendly and casual." Unveiling the first Ted aircraft, painted bright blue and marigold, similar to the colors of the Denver Broncos football team, Mr. Donohue added, "If this airplane could wink, it would." The United agency, Fallon Worldwide, part of the Publicis Groupe, is creating the nontraditional introductory advertising for Ted. A traditional campaign is to follow when the airline begins flying. The name Ted was created by Pentagram. For a month before it officially announced Ted, United teased Denver residents with billboards and stickers, created by Fallon, declaring, "Meet Ted" and "I've seen Ted." The campaign, which United said cost less than $100,000, generated "more excitement, more buzz and more attention" than anything else for the last 10 or 15 years, Mr. Donohue said, clearly not having paid attention to the Broncos in that period. Yet not everyone is swayed by Ted's charm. Even before it takes to the skies, Robert W. Mann Jr., an aviation consultant in Port Washington, N.Y., said Ted had become the butt of industry humor. "A lot of us are joking, 'What does Ted stand for?' The answer is, 'The end of United,' " Mr. Mann said. Others in the industry said they expected to soon see Northwest introduce a discount airline called West and American try one called Can. But Ted is no laughing matter, given the sorry record of traditional airlines in starting airlines-within-an-airline. United failed in the 1990's with a low-fare operation called Shuttle by United; Continental scrapped one named Continental Lite and Delta pulled the plug on Delta Express, though it is giving the field another try with Song, which began flying this year. Mr. Mann said he feared Ted would divert senior executives' attention from the vital task of completing a restructuring plan. United, which is the nation's second-largest airline, behind American, has not said when it would emerge from bankruptcy protection, only that it hoped to do so in the first half of 2004. United has been talking about a low-fare airline since it filed for Chapter 11 protection last December. The airline's officers, including its chief executive, Glenn F. Tilton, said that a low-fare airline would be the centerpiece of their comeback strategy, and the most important weapon for battling competitors like Southwest, JetBlue and ATA, part of which now carry about 25 percent of the nation's passengers. But last summer, United scaled back plans for the airline and said it would be only one piece of the airline's business plan, which has traditionally focused on business customers. Now, Ted ultimately will encompass about 10 percent of United's domestic flights, rather than the 30 percent that United originally planned to shift to a low-fare product. And Ted's fares, though lower than those charged by the parent airline, are higher than what many customers would consider cheap. An analysis by the trade publication Aviation Daily found tickets on Ted appeared to cost about 15 percent more than those of other budget airlines on the same routes. For example, it plans to charge a $409 one-way fare to walk-up passengers - those without reservations - from Denver to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and other cities. Frontier Airlines' unrestricted one-way fare from Denver to Las Vegas is $380. Mr. Mann said that, having made such a fuss about a low-fare airline, United executives may have felt they had no choice but to proceed with Ted, which will begin with 5 Airbus 320 jets and eventually use 45 planes. >From Denver, it will serve 14 cities, most of them in the West and a few in Florida. By the end of 2004, United executives said that Ted would serve Chicago and Washington Dulles airport, which are two of United's other main hubs. Kevin Mitchell, president of the Business Travel Coalition, which represents business travelers and corporate travel departments, said United was deliberately shying away from the East Coast, where competition is thickest. Delta's Song concentrates flights in the East, competing with discount airline JetBlue and traditional airlines, like US Airways, for business. Next year, Atlantic Coast Airlines, which had operated as a regional airline handling United passengers, plans to start Independence Air, a low-fare airline operating out of Dulles, next year. On Tuesday, it said it would buy 25 Airbus jets to operate on the airline, a move that Mesa Air, which has made an unsolicited takeover bid for Atlantic Coast Airlines, criticized as against the best interests of Atlantic Coast's shareholders. (At a news conference, Atlantic Coast jokingly listed the top 10 rejected names for the new airline. Among them: Theodore. The No. 1 rejected name: Mesa.) If that wasn't all, Southwest has announced plans to start service in Philadelphia next year, taking on US Airways in one of its hubs. This week, US Airways vowed to give Southwest a stiff battle. Its chief executive, David Siegal, who joined the airline last year and has since led it into and out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, told employees that he didn't intend to lead a going-out-of-business sale. By selecting Denver, where it already operates a successful hub, United chose a city "where they face the least chance of an embarrassment," Mr. Mitchell said, although it will face competition there from a resurgent Frontier Airlines. Still, Mr. Mitchell remains opposed to the idea of Ted. "I don't think they have the expertise, I don't think they have the corporate culture and I don't think they have the time to attain this," he said. "It's going to be very messy for United." United says it sees Ted differently. "This is an airline for the people, by the people," Mr. Donohue said. "We want to make Ted almost like a new friend, someone you'd like to get to know." Julie Dunn in Denver contributed to this article. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/21/business/media/21adco.html?ex=1070424132&ei=1&en=a8eb9f9cd27e7d94 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here: http://www.nytimes.com/ads/nytcirc/index.html HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company