PALIn 1967, Pacific Airlines (PAL), a commuter airline on the West Coast, hired award-winning advertising executive and comedian Stan Freberg to develop a new ad campaign. Freberg suggested that PAL poke fun at the one thing which airlines never mention - fear of flying.
At Freberg's direction, PAL placed full-page ads in various newspapers: "Hey there! You with the sweat in your palms," they began. "It's about time an airline faced up to something: Most people are scared witless of flying. Deep down inside, every time that big plane lifts off that ruoway, they wonder if this is it, right? You want to know something, fella? So does the pilot, deep down inside."
Freberg also arranged for flight attendants to hand out survival kits containing rabbits' feet and the book The Power of Positive Thinking and to exclaim "We made it! How about that!" whenever a plane touched down on the tarmac.
Two months after it launched its campaign, PAL was bankrupt.
["Weird" Al Yankovic once credited Freberg with inspiring him to pursue a career in comedy.]
Freberg, Stanley Victor (1926- ) American composer, singer, actor, author, comedian and advertising executive; founder of Freberg, Ltd; Radio Hall of Fame inductee (1995) [noted for his roles hosting such radio programs as "The Stan Freberg Show" and "When Radio Was"]
[Sources: Bruce Hash and Allan Zullo, The Misfortune 500]More Stanley Freberg anecdotesRelated Anecdote Keywords:
Advertising Advertising Campaigns Marketing Bad Ideas Business Airlines Flying Bankruptcies Phobias Comedy Comedians
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