DALLAS, March 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A fresh face of Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) is coming to a television near you!  Today, the airline kicks off its new advertising campaign with TBWA\Chiat\Day—its first with the agency.  Southwest worked with TBWA\Chiat\Day to build a campaign that tells the story of how Southwest became America's Largest Domestic airline, while also featuring recent product improvements that include the Rapid Rewards program, inflight Wifi, Live TV, Evolve cabins, and the new 737-800 aircraft.

"Southwest shares certain values with its Customers—hard work, perseverance, and the relentless pursuit of finding a better way.  These values have been the basis for how Southwest has led the industry, and we translated that vision into a reality with these new ads," said Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines' Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer.  "We're always working on making our airline a better choice for air travel.  Southwest carries more domestic Customers than any other airline and this new campaign showcases the impact we make on Customers every time they step on board a Southwest flight."

The campaign, shot in both Houston and Los Angeles, features a mix of Southwest Airlines Employees combined with representations of Southwest's Customers. The :60 second launch spot that will begin airing Tuesday, March 19 in men's college basketball championship games on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, highlights how the airline has continually strived to be better for its Customers. An additional national spot focuses in on the in-flight experience; Wifi availability, Live TV, and revamped interior with new leather seats and larger overhead bins. In its third spot, the brand highlights its best in category loyalty program—Rapid Rewards. The campaign reinvigorates the Southwest Airlines brand and reveals its story as one that people may not perceive it to be. The work was led creatively by John Norman (TBWA\Chiat\Day's Chief Creative Officer) and directed by renowned-talent, Erik Van Wyck.

"In a world with so many airline options, it's important to leverage a brand truth to differentiate from the competition," said Norman. "Southwest is always looking for a better way to get there. The campaign highlights its products, its Customers, and its Employees that grew the company."

"The campaign is a departure in tonality for Southwest, and we hope it inspires our Customers," said Jordan.  "Southwest has changed a lot over the years, we keep getting better, and we want Customers to see us in a new light.  To do that we needed something powerful to catch our Customers' attention and entice new Customers to give us a try—and we love the result."

The ads will run for eight weeks nationally. Southwest released the ads today on Facebook and Twitter and they received positive comments from the airline's fans and followers.  The airline plans more activation around the new campaign in the coming weeks.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

In its 42^nd year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by nearly 46,000 Employees to more than 100 million Customers annually.  Southwest is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating passengers boarded, and including wholly-owned subsidiary, AirTran Airways, operates the largest fleet of Boeing aircraft in the world to serve 97 destinations in 41 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and six near-international countries.

Southwest Airlines

From its first flights on June 18, 1971, Southwest Airlines launched an era of unprecedented affordability in air travel quantified by the U.S. Department of Transportation as "The Southwest Effect," a lowering of fares and increase in passenger traffic wherever the carrier serves.  On every flight, Southwest offers Customers the first two pieces of checked luggage (weight and size limitations apply) and all ticket changes without additional fees. Southwest's all Boeing fleet consistently offers leather seating and the comfort of full-size cabins, many of which are equipped with satellite-based WiFi connectivity and a new, eco-friendly cabin interior.  With 40 consecutive years of profitability, the People of Southwest operate more than 3,100 flights a day and serve communities around 78 airports in Southwest's network of domestic destinations.  Southwest Airlines' frequent flights and low fares are available only at southwest.com.

AirTran Airways

AirTran Airways, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co., offers coast-to-coast and near-international service with close to 600 flights a day to 54 destinations.  The carrier's high-quality product includes assigned seating and Business Class. As Southwest continues to integrate AirTran's People, places, and planes into Southwest Airlines, Customers of both carriers may book flights at airtran.com and exchange earned loyalty points between both AirTran's A+ Rewards® and Southwest's Rapid Rewards® for reward travel on either airline.

About TBWA Worldwide
TBWA Worldwide (www.tbwa.com) creates Disruptive Ideas expressed through Media Arts for global clients, including ABSOLUT, Accenture, adidas, Apple, Energizer, Four Seasons, GSK, Henkel, Infiniti, McDonald's, Michelin, Nissan, Pernod Ricard, Pfizer, Roche, Standard Chartered Bank and Singapore Airlines. TBWA is ranked as a Top 10 worldwide advertising agency and was recognized by Advertising Age in 2010 as the "Best International Network of the Decade." TBWA has 274 offices in 100 countries and over 11,000 employees worldwide.

About Omnicom Group Inc.
TBWA is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.

SOURCE Southwest Airlines