Watch United Airlines’ cinema ad for Taylor Swift’s concert film

Even United Airlines is leaning into the Taylor Swift craze with new marketing—a likely bid to attract travelers heading overseas for the next leg of the singer’s Eras tour in 2024. The Chicago-based carrier will begin airing a 30-second cinema spot designed specifically for Swifties attending “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert movie, which opens Friday amid much fanfare. The spot shows a United airplane flying in a dark sky as the ground lights up below. The jet is shown approaching SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Footage from Swift’s concerts in August at the venue is used in the Eras film. Concert music plays in the background as fans scream their enthusiasm and the text reads, “Ready for your next era? Let’s go.” The video closes with an image of a friendship bracelet that spells out “Good Leads the Way,” United’s tagline, and is an ode to Swift fans trading friendship bracelets at her concerts. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs “We estimate more than 100,000 fans flew United to catch the Eras Tour here in the U.S., so we know fans are willing to travel to experience Taylor’s show,” said Maggie Schmerin, United’s chief advertising officer. “Her movie gave us the opportunity to be contextually relevant with our creative to remind Swifties ahead of the launch of the international leg of the tour why United should be their airline of choice.” The ad was created in-house and will run from Oct. 13 through Oct. 31 in AMC, Regal and Cinemark theaters in United’s main hub cities of Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United worked with Carat USA on media buying. Last year, cinema ads represented about 5% of United's "Good Leads the Way" brand campaign, according to a spokesman. United is one of several brands trying to capture a piece of Swift’s halo effect. Last month, following her appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game to watch Travis Kelce play, marketers including Dunkin’, Heinz and Primal Kitchen tried to cash in on the action with limited-edition items and clever social media posts. Yet United, which has spent recent years honing its marketing into a nimble machine ready to quickly respond to pop culture events, could be well positioned with its new push. For example, the carrier is already looking into how it might make and distribute its own friendship bracelets. Without naming Swift, the spot’s nods to the uber-popular singer are clear. The work also positions United in front of millions of fans, many of whom may be booking tickets for Swift’s 2024 shows, which include concerts in Paris and London. Already, advance global ticket sales for the “Eras Tour” concert film have exceeded $100 million. For the second quarter of the year, United reported revenue of $14.2 billion, a 17% increase over the year-earlier period, alongside earnings of $1.4 billion, triple the year-earlier period. Experts predict a robust holiday travel season this year as consumers continue to prioritize experiences over products following COVID-19 lockdowns.

Watch United Airlines’ cinema ad for Taylor Swift’s concert film

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