American Airlines Corporation: The On-Time Machine campaign (1988)

In 1988 American Airlines Corp. inaugurated a new advertising campaign to highlight the fact that the U.S.

American Airlines Corporation: The On-Time Machine campaign

Rebecca Stanfel

Overview

In 1988 American Airlines Corp. inaugurated a new advertising campaign to highlight the fact that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) had recently ranked the company first in its survey of the on-time rates of major airlines. (The DOT defined "on-time" to mean arriving within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.) Targeted predominantly at business travelers for whom time was money, "The On-Time Machine" campaign marked a departure from American's prior advertising, which had consisted mainly of either image ads, designed to improve consumers' overall impression of the company, or...

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