Southwest Airlines asks, are you sitting down?

Assigned seating isn’t new to the airline industry but it is new to Southwest Airlines and they’re introducing this change to consumers with their signature heart through a new, tongue-in-cheek campaign called Are You Sitting Down, created by longtime agency creative AOR, GSD&M.

With delightfully self-aware humour and a comedic flair only Southwest could pull off, the campaign’s thirty-second spot begins with a Southwest flight attendant at a podium to announce, “America, we have BIG news. Are you sitting down?” As she speaks, we see various people sit down to listen. The attendant continues, “Now on Southwest you can pick your seat when you book, not when you board. We call it …” and at that point, a woman excitedly interrupts with “Assigned seating!” and kicks off a montage of intentionally over-the-top reactions to the brand’s news.

There was a group of consumers who weren’t flying Southwest because of the seating policy. In true Southwest fashion, they wanted to introduce assigned seats, with a sense of humility and humour while remaining transparent about what they offer.
With Are You Sitting Down, Southwest Airlines aims to attract new consumers and increase loyalty among existing consumers who found the previous boarding experience stressful.