AP:
Derrie-Air has been exposed. Readers of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News opened their papers Friday to see ads for a new airline called Derrie-Air, which purportedly charges passengers by the pound.
But the new carrier will never get off the ground. It’s a one-day advertising campaign about a fake airline by Philadelphia Media Holdings, the papers’ owner, and Gyro ad agency.
In light blue banners throughout the papers — as well as on their Web site, Philly.com — Derrie-Air cheerily trumpets its policy: The more you weigh, the more you pay. The ads direct readers to the Web site http://www.flyderrie-air.com.
Philadelphia Media Holdings spokesman Jay Devine said the goal is to “demonstrate the power of our brands in generating awareness and generating traffic for our advertisers, and put a smile on people’s faces.”
Another important result of the test will be how it grades the intelligence level of the advertisers who actually decide to place ads based on these bogus traffic numbers.