Scoot to name a plane for Spirit’s highest form of flattery

Asian carrier Scoot to name a plane for Spirit’s highest form of flattery

Popular Asian airline Scoot’s cheeky ribbing of controversial US budget airline Spirit is reaching new heights with a plan to name its new Boeing 787 aircraft ‘Inspiring Spirit’.

“They say imitation is the highest form of flattery and we’re certainly flattered that Spirit has recently changed their brand look and feel to something remarkably similar to Scoot’s,” explains Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson. “It seems only fair that I return the compliment by naming our newest aircraft after them. It’s all in the, well, spirit, of fun.”

Scoot is famous for its fun, cheerful, irreverent attitude – what Scoot likes to call “Scootitude” – and the approach Scoot is taking in response to Spirit’s brand flattery is becoming something of a web phenomenon.

First there was the video of Wilson alluding to Scoot sending a special message to Spirit’s Florida-based headquarters.

Scoot then launched a blimp at Spirit’s headquarters carrying the message: “HEY SPIRIT, YOU CAN’T HAVE OUR SCOOTITUDE #FLYSCOOT”.

Wilson says the blimps were a bit of fun and he is enjoying the chance to draw attention to the brand similarities: “The parallels are obvious for anyone to see – from our signature yellow, to our illustrations, icons, style and tone.

“But,” Wilson says, “they can never replicate our Scootitude.”

In the spirit of Scootitude, a detailed Scoot creative kit providing full details of its brand identity and templates available for re-use has already been sent to Sprit.

The latest development is that Scoot is naming its newest 787 Dreamliner, being delivered from Boeing’s South Carolina plant next week, ‘Inspiring Spirit’.

“We’re sure our fans want us to record the fact that we have been such an inspiration, and what better place to do so than on an aircraft that will be seen around the world for years to come,” he said. Referring to Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza, he continued “We’d of course love for Ben to join us when we take delivery of ‘Inspiring Spirit’… we’ll even buy lunch. The invitation’s open.”

Scoot won the top title of Marketer of the Year at the 2014 Marketing Excellence Awards in Singapore. It was also voted 2015’s Best Low Cost Airline Asia/Pacific by AirlineRatings.com.

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