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Why not just give a coupon for free baggage check on next flight?

I love the last sentence: Restrictions apply* Really?

I actually kind of like it. I understand what they’re saying, and it answers all the questions I might have about the restrictions.

Buy: between Sept. 9 and 21 Fly: between Oct. 15 and Nov. 15 Coupon for: Jan. 8 through Feb. 9. Mailed after: Nov. 30 Sign up by: Sept. 21

The best part is they obviously think this makes sense since they let it get published. I wonder what the ratio of booked flights to confused customers will be.

[with formatting]

Buy: between Sept. 9 and 21
Fly: between Oct. 15 and Nov. 15
Coupon for: Jan. 8 through Feb. 9
Mailed after: Nov. 30
Sign up by: Sept. 21

@Natasha That concept is just terrible to begin with. I like Benjy’s free baggage idea much better.

Hah. That’s hilarious.

I sure hope they manage to get the world out to the three people in the world who can take advantage of this stellar offer. rollseyes

I didn’t have any trouble understanding the coupon, though I wonder why they had to make it so complicated a promotion.

I guess they want to make it complicated so they won’t have to pay up on as many vouchers. This way, people’s schedules can interfere, and the company will have given the impression of providing a deal to its customers without actually spending much on it.

The only thing more painful than having to read that coupon was having to read [an] explanation of it two more times.

LOL ! I thought the same thing when I got the coupon in my email. Had to read it multiple times (very slowly) to decipher it, and finally ended up with the same translation as Natasha. But for all the work required to figure it out they should be giving out more than $50…

I hate offers like this as well as promotions that involve rebate forms.

Both rely heavily on fine print to trick you out of compliance. For instance, there may be blackout dates or cities that further complicate this promotion. In the case of rebate forms, there are always at least 3 items that need to be submitted, which seem to be arbitrarily rejected 1/3 of the time when processed.

Furthermore, by signing up for this kind of promotion or buying a product with a mail-in rebate, you’re also signing up to add an obligation to your life. Who needs the guilt of meeting this obligation or the remorse if you can’t?

If we all ignore this kind of BS marketing, it will go away.

No what’s really alarming is the number of people who had to develop this coupon and how much money it cost for JetBlue to really figure out this ‘offer.’ How many meetings went into having to decide which dates you could buy, which dates you could fly, which dates you could fly again and which date did you have to sign up by???

Wonder what that white board looked like?

And will JetBlue really make any money off this offer considering how much they time they wasted creating it?

Thanks, JetBlue for making me jump thru hoops to save any kind of money if I want to fly with you. I feel compelled….really.

Ha, I actually wrote JetBlue about this a week ago. Here’s the what I wrote:

I just got an ad: ‘Get a $50 voucher: Book a flight, within the next two weeks, for a month, and you’ll get 50 dollars back on a trip booked within a month four months from now.’

Wow.

This seems like the most ridiculous advertisement ever. The barrier to action is absurdly high. I love JetBlue, but with Ad Campaigns like this one I fear you might only confuse and alienate.

You guys strive so hard for simple language elsewhere, having simple criteria for your ad campaigns seems like another great step in the right direction.

And here was their response (rather canned, but not 100%):

Dear Christopher,

Thank you for contacting JetBlue Airways regarding our recent promotion. While we regret your dissatisfaction with the verbiage used in this promotion, we appreciate your candid feedback. One the key components to our success to date - and into the future - is based on listening to our customers.

You can trust that your comments have been forwarded to Marketing Team for their review and consideration.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your concerns. We gratefully welcome the opportunity to welcome you onboard and to providing you with an excellent JetBlue experience.

Sincerely,

Trena

TrueBlue Customer Crew

JetBlue Airways

Crewmember 28042

This. Is. Hysterical.

@Dan and Sarah: Right on.

There’s just too much to digest here. I’m tired of businesses throwing consumers scraps and making them go through several arbitrary steps in order for the business to make good on their side of the deal. It’s ridiculous. What people appreciate is simplicity.

“Fly now, get a $50 voucher for later!” Ok, that’s pretty simple, I think I’ll fly now.

While I agree that seeing all those restrictions is intimidating at first, I can also see what JetBlue was trying to do. Most promotions of this kind have the same types of restrictions, but they’re usually hidden away and written in a language only lawyers can understand. By putting the restrictions right there on the coupon, JetBlue makes it clear what you can expect.

If you just want a summary, it’s right there in big friendly letters: “Get a $50 voucher”.

Personally, after reading that, I would naturally think, “what’s the catch?” and there it is, spelled out below so I don’t have to go hunting for it. And it’s not that confusing to understand, once you get over your fear of so many words and numbers in such a tight space.

I guess if they made the text smaller, like most companies, then people would be happier?

*Offer void if used.

Part of the problem is that the ad is cluttered by unnecessary or redundant information.

1) Who cares when they’ll email the voucher? That should be part of the confirmation, or on the form, not in the ad.

2) You have to buy the tickets by September 21, so they should only say that once. Maybe something like this:

”...book a roundtrip flight on jetblue.com between September 9 and 11:59 p.m. MDT on September 21, 2008, for travel between October 15 and November 15, 2008, and we’ll send you a $50 voucher…”

I don’t see why it’s so important for them to be so specific with their dates…I guess they crunched the data in some way that said these specific dates are the most optimized for a promotion or something, but I can’t help but think they’d do better to just say “fly during February” and make consumers a bit happier.

They could have created some sort of timeline with Bars showing the different relevant dates, too…

Must be a coupon for time travel

It’s like the Da Vinci Code compressed into 75 words.

Funny but I read the sentence once slowly and thought it was perfectly clear. It cogently describes the entire offer, uses parallelism properly and presents everything in chronological order. What did all of you find so difficult to understand?

As with any coupon/voucher, they plan on a certain conversion rate which is built into the price of the ticket. All the restrictions are meant to drive that conversion rate down.

I believe if they dropped all restrictions (i.e., “book a flight and we’ll give you $50 off your next flight”) they’d probably do more business overall.

@ Chris Martin, It’s not so much about understanding the message, It’s not hard to understand. It’s about HOW the message comes across.

If you’re in advertising, you know about copy flow, rhythm, and the virtue of the single-threaded message. Or not, like in this case :)

Such a conglomerate blob of numbers (dates) interrupts the natural rhythm of language. It twarts any significant flow of “valuable” information to a point where it becomes ridiculous and, in this case, absolutely hilarious.

Thanks for posting this one, it made my day!

Hi,

I would like to know how can I submit a coupon to your web site. We are a toy web site that sells remote control toys and puzzles and we can offer 10% discount on all of our web site. Our web site address is www.agehobby.com and the coupon code is: “age” Please contact me at: sales@agehobby.com and tell me how can I submit the coupon to your web site.

Thanks, Tina

LOL . I love Tina’s spam comment above.

Sorry Tina, your coupon offer is too simple. Please add the following disclaimer:

“Avoid contact with skin. At participating locations only. Approved for veterans. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is unintentional and purely coincidental. Allow four to six weeks for delivery. All models over 18 years of age. Action figures sold separately. This product is meant for educational purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Void where prohibited. Some assembly required. List each check separately by bank number. Batteries not included. Contents may settle during shipment. Use only as directed. No other warranty expressed or implied. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Postage will be paid by addressee. Subject to CAB approval. This is not an offer to sell securities. Apply only to affected area. May be too intense for some viewers. Do not stamp. Use other side for additional listings. For recreational use only. Do not disturb. All models over 18 years of age. If condition persists, consult your physician. No user-serviceable parts inside. Freshest if eaten before date on carton. Subject to change without notice. Times approximate. Simulated picture. No postage necessary if mailed in the United States. Please remain seated until the ride has come to a complete stop. Breaking seal constitutes acceptance of agreement. For off-road use only. As seen on TV. One size fits all. Many suitcases look alike. Contains a substantial amount of non-tobacco ingredients. Colors may, in time, fade. We have sent the forms which seem right for you. Slippery when wet. For office use only. Not affiliated with the American Red Cross. Warranty void if serviced by non-authorized personnel. Drop in any mailbox. Edited for television. Keep cool; process promptly. Post office will not deliver without postage. This can contains a head-enhancing device; do not shake vigorously. List was current at time of printing. Return to sender, no forwarding order on file, unable to forward. Not responsible for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect, error or failure to perform. At participating locations only. Not the Beatles. Don’t try this in your living room; these are trained professionals. Penalty for private use. See label for sequence. Substantial penalty for early withdrawal. Do not write below this line. Falling rock. Batteries not included. Beware of dog. Breaking seal constitutes acceptance of agreement. Caveat emptor. Close cover before striking. Contains a substantial amount of non-tobacco ingredients. Contestants have been briefed on some questions before the show. Do not disturb. Freshest if eaten before date on carton. Hand wash only, tumble dry on low heat. If a rash, redness, irritation, or swelling develops, discontinue use. If condition persists, consult your physician. If defects are discovered, do not attempt to fix them yourself, but return to an authorized service center.”