Jetstar: We’re not the Westpac of airlines
Budget airline Jetstar has capitalised on the furore over Westpac’s decision to hike up its variable interest rate with a cheeky tactical ad.
During the unfolding PR debacle, Westpac executive Peter Hanlon told a briefing: “We don’t have a price leading strategy. We’re not the Jetstar of banking.”
The public relations nightmare got worse for the bank after it released a video attempting to justify its increase a similar to when the price of banana smoothies goes up after a storm damages crops.
Jetstar has responded today with full page press ads promotings its low cost offering and announcing: ‘We’re still the Jetstar of airlines!”
The copy adds: ‘It’s always reassuring when a company as big as Westpac also recognises our famous low fares.”
Marketing director David May told Mumbrella: “We thought about giving a free banana with every flight booked but that would have taken all our profit margin on the flights – apparently bananas are more expensive due to the weather or something.”
Meanwhile, Bankwest also got in on the Bananagate action, with its own ad featuring a banana:
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No price-leading strategy? I hate to point out the obvious, but…
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Hahah love the last quote.
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That is an awesome quote from the Marketing Director, should have put that on the ad
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Speaking of this – page 18 in today’s SMH (yep – I work at Fairfax) has a great Bankwest ad along the same lines
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Love the quote from the Marketing Director! Giving Virgin a run for their money in the cheeky stakes.
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Jetstar 3-0 Westpac.
How to do PR & Marketing 101 – a must attend seminar run by Jetstar for all Westpac marketers.
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Thanks, BC – I’ve added that image to the end of the story.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Someone (people claiming it is John Safran, but I’m not so sure) has reworked the original Westpac vid – perhaps a little closer to the truth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDL6vFtj-gE
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Just like Qantas, Jetstar will capitalise on any opportunity, remember .. they are the airline for the CASHED UP BOGANS. It just goes to show how stupid they are to have someone in their organisation saying “apparently bananas are more expensive due to the weather or something.” .. ‘or something’! Got their education out of a cornflakes box or something’?!
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@ Daniel Fierro he was being funny. I really hope you don’t hold a position of authority..
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@Daniel Fierro hey mate I just found your lost sense of humour right here under my desk, want me to put that on a courier over to you?
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Daniel Fierro – are you Kevin from Double Bay? You ALWAYS make me laugh!
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David May is hilarious – best quote I’ve seen on Mumbrella, flanked by Daniel Fierro’s bizarre, funny and misguided rant – gold!
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Absolute cracker of an ad and final proof that, brandwise, now and probably forever in the budget airline game, Jetstar OWN price.
Which has to be good for us, travellers cos the other budget airlines now have to try hard to own service, no hidden costs, no cancellations etc.
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You pay bananas, you get monkeys. Talk to Westpac’s marketing team. Oo oo!
Did he say,”We don’t have a priced lending strategy”? He should have finished with “We are not the NAB of banking.”
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Well done JETSTAR. You still leave the other airlines; especially VIRGIN for dead. In all respects.
Great grab at an unexpected opportunity – you capitilised on the absolutely stupid and juvenile attempt of WESTPAC “to be innovative”. And trumped them beautifully, with all the extra PR and reporting involved on ‘blogs’ everywhere. (To say nothing of what the columns in tomorrows papers will add).
And to think that dear olde VIRGIN think they are ‘the innovative one’. Rubbish.
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Fantastic opportunistic advertising by Jetstar. I only wish they’d included the obvious gag you used in your headline: “We’re not the Westpac of airlines”, because that would have been even funnier than what they did put in the ad. Presumably they thought there might be some sort of legal risk with that, but I can’t see how there could have been, considering Westpac had used Jetstar’s brand in its comment…
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Dan, understand your point, but disagree. To say ‘We’re not the Westpac of airlines’ would’ve been a criticism of Westpac. I don’t think Jetstar knocking Westpac achieves much for Jetstar. By saying ‘But we’re still the Jetsar of airlines’ Jetstar makes the same point and retains the high ground. Your headline is more Virgin Blue than Jetstar.
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