Air New Zealand and the Saverjet Parody

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The Saverjet viral video campaign is orientated around the operations of the budget (and fictitious) airline at SaverJet.com. It plays out as a parody of Australian low cost carriers and their supposed array of hidden fees and charges incurred beyond the advertised airfare.

The ‘humorous’ approach to the low cost experience was directed at both Pacific Blue (part of the Virgin Blue group) and Jetstar (part of the Qantas group), yet the video appears as though it should have been directed at an airline like Ryanair (or Tiger?), since the video made absolutely no factual reference to the nature of any Australian operation. In fact, one could argue that it was nothing more than a smear campaign with false and unsubstantiated scare tactics and lies camouflaged by humour.

It was only after the video had over 13,000 hits before Air New Zealand revealed its sinister involvement in the campaign. Keeping a distance from a campaign is referred to as ‘dark viral’, meaning that the brand isn’t initially (and sometimes ever) acknowledged. It’s a practice generally frowned upon in serious marketing circles since the publisher of material is not initially held accountable for their content… and it’s certainly not the kind of anonymity that you would to use as a prelude to a campaign orientated around transparency.

Air New Zealand’s marketing manager, Jules Lloyd, said the “tongue-in-cheek campaign [was] designed to raise awareness of the hidden fees that low-cost carriers charge, [and that] this is a humorous and light hearted-way that would get people thinking about the real cost of a ‘cheap’ flight prior to the booking.”

Is this another case of Air New Zealand demonstrating its ‘little country’ or ‘little airline’ inferiority complex? This campaign, and the Nothing to Hide TV commercials, are orientated around transparency of Air NZ airfares, but it’s a strange approach to take when their competitor’s airfares are just as transparent – if not more so – than theirs are.

It’s suggested that Air NZ stole its parody concept from Sky High Airlines.

Saverjet Website

Saverjet Conditions

This was a blog published on martinetics.com in May 2009 before it was sadly retired to make way for five independent websites, of which flight.org is one.

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