I like branding. I like the idea of it, of a consistent experience. I appreciate a nice execution (of a brand). I also like airplanes and airports. The romantic idea of travel, born from excursions through LAX as a child in the 60’s accompanying my dad to the gate as he flew off to exotic lands, has never fully left me in spite of homeland security patdowns and cramped seats (hard to believe, I know).
But some things can still crack my reverie. Like this dot com wing branding on a recent flight. No doubt that we’ll next see a wing tip QR code for easy in-flight scanning.
Even worse though were the chaotic Zappos.com ads on the bottoms of all of the plastic security trays. Not only do I question why a company would want to associate its brand with one of the most unpleasant and often humiliating experiences a traveler has to endure, but to make it even worse is unconscionable.
After retrieving my shoes, belt, passport, phone, watch, bracelet and liquids from my tray, I couldn’t tell if it was empty due to the visual chaos of the Zappos.com ad. I actually had to run my hand around to ensure I’d grabbed everything. Higher than normal anxiety, bad brand association. Tsk tsk.