Really, they’re not actors.
Budget carrier Ted, part of United Airlines, is launching a television ad campaign using on-the-street auditions for a new spokesperson to promote its fares, website and frequent- flier program.
The spots debut today and are expected to run through summer.
The ads continue the theme of an earlier radio campaign in which a narrator stops people in public and asks them to audition for the spokesperson’s role.
In one spot an elderly man in flannel dances outside a Las Vegas casino to prove his talent. In another, a Frenchman lounging on the beach insists he’s a perfect candidate because he’s sexy.
The 15 30-second spots are set to run only in Denver, where Ted launched a year ago. It’s the second televised ad push for the airline, which was founded to help Chicago-based United compete against discount rivals such as Frontier, Southwest and JetBlue.
“We think the ads stand out with the humor that people bring to the interview process,” United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said. She declined to say how much the company spent on the ads but said the use of “ordinary people” instead of actors kept costs down.
Because of their lighthearted nature, the ads draw up immediate comparisons to Denver-based Frontier, whose ads featuring talking animals have been popular with Denver audiences.
“I don’t think you’re going to see people talking about these in the same extent as the Frontier ads,” said Gary Horvath, a marketing analyst at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. “They’re cute, but after I saw them one time, I would probably turn them off.”
Stuart D’Rozario, group creative director for Fallon Minneapolis, which created the ads, said the popularity of Frontier’s ads didn’t influence the Ted campaign.
“Ted has its own personality,” he said.
The group filmed roughly 100 people in South Florida and Las Vegas – both popular leisure travel destinations – to come up with 15 spots.
The campaign, which will air on cable and network stations, will be reinforced with radio and print advertising, Urbanski said.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
