The three Virgins are getting it on together for the first time.
Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America and Virgin Australia have teamed for the first time to launch a joint marketing campaign which features a digital and offline advertising blitz in the Los Angeles market, the launch of a new website, Virgin Skies, and an upcoming short film produced onboard the three carriers -- all to tout the supposedly common Virgin flying experience.
In addition to highlighting this shared DNA and the three airlines' footprints in the Los Angeles market, the joint advertising campaign is geared to publicize the three airlines' global frequent flyer partnership.
All of this marketing and frequent flyer coziness makes sense for the Virgin brand, but could raise eyebrows among some critics because, as the announcement points out, "Virgin America is a US-controlled and operated airline and an entirely separate company from Virgin Atlantic. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group is a minority shareholder in Virgin America."
US laws bars majority foreign ownership of US airlines and the Virgin Group's stake in Virgin America was a sticking point among some in the run-up to regulatory approval. Critics had unsuccessfully argued that the Virgin Group would actually control Virgin America.
The advertising campaign includes billboards in the Los Angeles area, including a video billboard on Sunset Boulevard, as well as banner ads and snippets from the upcoming film on a variety of websites.
The upcoming short film, Departure Date, which was filmed across three continents onboard commercial flights of the three airlines, was produced by Virgin Produced, the Virgin entertainment division.
The ad campaign is the brainchild of the agency, Eleven.
Depature Date, which will debut at the Virgin-sponsored Los Angeles Film Festival in June, stars Ben Feldman (Mad Men) and Nicky Whelan (Hall Pass), among other actors.
Here's a video promotion about the film: