To Get Attention, You Need to Take Chances

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  HughMRyan02/17/08 Report as spam
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  CEO As Drag Queen

  The Southwest CEO's old-time publicity stunt got ink, and New York Times ink at that. But what positive message about the airline's cities served, safety, on-time arrivals, flyer amenities, ticket prices, or other marketing factors did the photo convey? None, that I can see. I suppose it proves the CEO is not pompous and not all full of himself, and that's good. I don't think the photo would make me more or less likely to patronize the airline, so, while I do not see any particular harm in the stunt, I also see no benefit.

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  jongreer02/19/08 Report as spam
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  Good points

  True -- there wasn't a ton in the article about key SWA info such as cities served and safety record. But you're going to be hard-pressed to get those into any major story. But the article wasn't all light and breezy -- there were several references to SWA's commitment to quality and customer service, and those are the messages that were delivered via that picture.