American Airlines has committed to its first major multimedia ad campaign with new print ads in The Advocate and online which look like vintage, 50s-era illustrated posters, but with the twist of two carefree men stepping off the plane together.

The airline has had a major presence in the GLBT marketplace over the years but has mainly concentrated on sponsorships, Commercial Closet reports.

The tagline of the new campaign is "Fly forward" and was created by American's longtime ad agency, TM Advertising, of Dallas, and Washington, D.C.-based gay marketing firm Witeck-Combs Communications.

"There's a sameness to travel ads, the same faces and couples in stock photography, we thought we'd like to try something more imaginative," explains American Airlines spokesman Tim Kincaid. The illustrations intend to capture a "wanderlust and to show people traveling with someone they care about. It allowed us to invent our own space and time, and subtly remind people that we've been here a long time," meaning same-sex couples.

A version featuring two women is due early in 2008, an important addition the airline says. "The market is not all white males," Kincaid says, "Exclude women from 'LGBT' at your own peril!"

Last update: 01-10-2008 13:38