Southwest Airlines, Reflection
This ad for Southwest Airlines ran on Spanish-language television, as well as on CBS during the Latin Grammys, and even during gay-friendly Will & Grace. It is set on a beach as a goofy guy walks past his reflection in a car window and stops to check out his figure. He moves in close, smiles, picks his nose, checks his thinning hair, etc.
The window then suddenly roles down and two guys inside are smiling back at him. One blows a kiss and the driver (wearing a rainbow bracelet), smiles leeringly. The goofball's face falls.
The announcer then says in Spanish, "Do you want to fly (play on words in Spanish, which also means to flee) away? Now you can do it with Southwest. With fares starting at $46."
The tagline: "We give wings to your freedom."
The ad would have been neutral up to the point of the announcer's play on words. Why couldn't the car have had sexy women in it instead of using homophobia? His embarrassment would have been the same.
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commercial. In fact, we all think its a great commercial in the great SWA tradition. There's nothing offensive about it at all. It's just a comical look at very typical human reactions when they're caught with their pants down - so to speak. The man primping did not seem shocked by the fact that men were
staring at him. He was taken aback and embarrassed by his own rather geekish and egocentric behavior. As we all have been at one time or another.