JetBlue launched a campaign last May that addressed crying babies on flights. The brainchild of its marketing head Elizabeth Windram, the idea helped change the attitude of its flyers towards screaming babies. The campaign consequently became a viral video that also helped change public perception.
On a typically long trip to New York from Long Beach in California, a number of mothers were on the plane with their babies. The passengers expected that this will be an inconvenience knowing how babies tend to be uncomfortable and act out inside an airplane.
JetBlue handled the situation by doing something unexpected, Pop Sugar reports. To make the best out of a bad situation, the airline told the passengers of Flight 213 that each time a baby cries, they will be getting a 25 percent discount when they book their next trip with the airline.
Four babies were on that flight and as expected, all of them screamed and wailed during the trip. But instead of the passengers becoming grumpy or irritated, they cheered and clapped during a long flight with crying babies.
"Four cries is equivalent to a free round-trip ticket," the stewardess told the passengers. Everything was documented in a video entitled FlyBabies, which the company launched on social media. Watch it below.
Flying with crying babies never sounded so sweet.#FlyBabies https://t.co/65eBikrTtshttps://t.co/cFzWCSmmxm
— JetBlue Airways (@JetBlue) May 2, 2016
According to AdWeek, Elizabeth Windram's campaign became a success for JetBlue with 5.5 million views and 640 million impressions. It also raised awareness to how it's tough for families with crying babies on flight, so they deserve compassion and understanding from other passengers.
Shawna Kaszer of Huffington Post, however, disagreed with the commendations the campaign has generated. She saw that people were more encouraged by the discounts. They were not actually inspried to be compassionate towards the cying babies on flights and their family. "JetBlue, you showed me that we need to be paid to be compassionate in moments of inconvenience," she wrote.
What do you think parents, especially with those flying with babies? Has the campaign been effective or did it miss the whole point? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
