When it comes to branding, can you have something that is “overly familiar” about your company? I don’t think so, unless it’s something quite negative. So, when a company spends years implanting an associative memory in the minds of their customers with a powerful jingle, why are they so quick to give it up when the latest tagline is presented by an agency? Why not incorporate elements of the old jingle and start adding elements of the new image you want to convey? Could it be that it’s more work? Could it be that the agency won’t be able to take credit? Could it be that the agency can charge more to create a brand new campaign?
If you’re going to throw the baby out with the bathwater, why not just start over with a new name as well? You’re abandoning the real estate that you established in the minds of your customers and telling them that now you are something different. The new campaign will claim that ATA is “honestly different” than other airlines. “Go easy. Go ATA,” is another tagline. It’s gonna take some serious proof to convince me that those aren’t unsubstantiated claims. For ATA’s sake, let’s hope there’s some meat and potatoes under this gravy.
The new radio and television spots feature a laid-back, jazzy piece of music intended to replace the perhaps overly familiar “On ATA You’re On Vacation” jingle the carrier has used for years.
“That song actually worked too well,” Pitzel said. “As ATA grew into a more full-service airline that is attractive to business fliers as well as leisure travelers, the airline was still perceived as just a leisure carrier because of that song.” Pitzel penned the lyrics to both pieces of music.