Before You Make A Brand Positioning Claim Or A Marketing Promise, Ask A Seven Year Old

Unlike Alaska Airlines, in this ad spotted by Seattle Times columnist Ron Judd:

Marketers at Alaska Airlines, perhaps fretting over intruding airlines such as Allegiant, which flies nonstop from small northern cities to sunny southern climes, are getting a bit creative.

In an e-mail to mileage-plan members last week, Alaska/Horizon boasted: "We have daily nonstop flights from Bellingham, Redmond and Eugene to sunny destinations in California, Arizona and Nevada."

Uh, no, they don't. Horizon does fly directly from Redmond, Ore., to L.A., but most frequent Northwest travelers know the airline flies nonstop from Bellingham only to Sea-Tac, and from Eugene, Ore., to either Medford or Portland.

When the little plane touches down in those places, it's called a "stop." A "nonstop" flight would involve getting on a plane and flying directly to a southern state without stopping.

OK, it's nitpicking. But just imagine the sagging spirits of all those freezing Bellinghamsters who learn that their best nonstop "sunny destination" on Horizon is actually Seattle.

You promise "12 in a row every hour," but you actually only play 10 or 11? And, not every hour?

Talk to a seven year old. You're only fooling one person, YOU.