Keep the cameras off the Delta employees

As SS+K prepares to replace Ogilvy & Mather as Delta Air Lines’ creative agency, the agency should maybe think twice about continuing to feature Delta employees in the advertising. That’s because Delta is now asking those employees to clean its airlines for free—at night, on their own time, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Oh, they’ll get a few token rewards: free T-shirts, reward points good for merchandise, a chance to show their pride in the airline, maybe a bag of peanuts or two. But they may also get sick of pulling unpaid four- and eight-hour shifts to (in the words of a Delta rep) “scrape stuff from tray tables and floors … if there’s gum on the floor.” Other volunteers will clean the bathrooms (where pride becomes that much harder to maintain). According to the Times story, employees at the Tampa airport rolled their eyes when a Delta supervisor told them about the program. Better find some actors for that next campaign.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

April 21, 2006 | Permalink