The article below from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\ I HEART HUCKABEES - OPENING IN SELECT CITIES OCTOBER 1 From David O. Russell, writer and director of THREE KINGS and FLIRTING WITH DISASTER comes an existential comedy starring Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Hupert, Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Mark Wahlberg and Naomi Watts. Watch the trailer now at: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/huckabees/index_nyt.html \----------------------------------------------------------/ Airlines Again Sell the Experience of Flying August 30, 2004 By ERIC PFANNER International Herald Tribune For the world's airlines, the last three years have been a long nightmare. Buffeted by the continuing fallout from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a sluggish global economy and price competition from upstarts, established airlines are facing unusually intense financial pressures. Needless to say, it has not been a great time for advertising. Many airlines have sharply cut spending. With their remaining budgets, airlines have generally turned away from traditional "image" ads extolling the quality of their service or that warm and contented feeling of their passengers. Instead, they have focused on price, or specific features like the angle of recline on a business-class seat. But as air travel picks up a bit, a few full-service airlines are once again trying the image approach. The campaigns seek to distinguish the major airlines from their low-fare rivals, while conveying a sense of security to nervous post-Sept. 11 travelers. Last spring, United Airlines, a unit of the UAL Corporation, introduced an unusual, animated television ad campaign by Fallon Worldwide, part of the Publicis Groupe. It used the voice of Robert Redford and said, "It's time to fly." Several Asian airlines have also stepped up their use of image campaigns as long-haul traffic rebounds. And last week, Lufthansa introduced new advertisements that take what Harald Eisenaecher, vice president for marketing, called an emotional approach. That is a departure for Lufthansa, whose recent ads have highlighted fares and services like Flynet, the carrier's airborne Internet access. "During the crisis years, we couldn't focus so much on quality and differentiation," he said. "But those are very important elements for a network carrier." The campaign, created by the Berlin affiliate of the Interpublic Group of Companies' McCann-Erickson agency network, will include print, online and outdoor ads, as well as direct marketing. It employs simple images that are easily adaptable for more than 40 markets. One print ad shows a sleeping couple aboard a plane. Beneath the Lufthansa logo, clearly visible on the seat back, the ad reads: "Pilots who are perfectly trained. Mechanics who double-check every bolt. Flight attendants who leave you in a land of dreams. All for this one moment." The ads include the company's previous slogan, "There's no better way to fly." "Customers are very much the focus, not aircraft metal or speed or something," Mr. Eisenaecher said. Media spending is being managed by WPP Group's MindShare unit. In euros, Mr. Eisenaecher said, it comes to the "low double-digit millions." That will bring Lufthansa back to roughly pre-Sept. 11 spending levels, he added. Like other carriers, it had cut back sharply. In the United States alone, airline ad spending fell to $678 million last year, from $2.4 billion in 2000, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR, an industry research firm. In the first six months of the year, it reached $375 million. Another major European airline, British Airways, which introduced its first brand campaign in about four years in the spring, was forced to pull the ads from television and radio last week amid service disruptions at Heathrow Airport in London. Dozens of flights were canceled because of a shortage of ground staff, leaving thousands of people stranded. Apparently, images of a businessman being flown by British Airways to meet his family on vacation - backed by orchestral music and the tagline "the way to fly" - did not blend well with television news reports of angry travelers. "We did defer some of the ads but will reinstate them shortly," a British Airways spokeswoman said. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/30/business/worldbusiness/30airline.html?ex=1094870318&ei=1&en=671c221cffeb50a3 --------------------------------- 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://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&ExternalMediaCode=W24AF 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 2004 The New York Times Company