American Airlines, TikTok, airline marketing, youth appeal, social media advertising, aviation industry, digital marketing, airline promotions
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Abstract
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Abstract
Discover how American Airlines used TikTok to appeal to young travelers in a 2021 ad campaign, featuring a unique marketing strategy.
Extract
[...] American Airlines . Facebook I found it while browsing to look for an American commercial. American Airlines has been a famous American airline enabling people to fly around the world since 1930. Actually, in 1930, Charles Lindbergh made the first postal connection between Chicago and Saint-Louis with an aircraft from American Airways, which became later American Airlines. I chose this commercial because I thought it was a bit provoking. The commercial aims at selling plane tickets, but it does it through an indirect way by putting something which basically has nothing to do with plane tickets into relief: the famous social media TikTok. [...]
[...] If it had been a « traditional » commercial for American Airlines, the target audience would have been adults. But this specific focus on TikTok shows that the company wants to appeal to young people. Indeed, TikTok is a social media which has been very popular among teenagers. So, the company probably aims at rejuvenating its audience. They want to show that they are a very modern company which is succeeding in being up to date and innovative. Two main visual techniques are the choice of colours (« TikTok for free » in a pink hue which verges on the red, to attract attention) and the absence of people on the picture. [...]
