Asian carrier Scoot to name a plane for Spirit’s highest form of flattery

Cristina Blanaru Creativity, Guerilla, Marketing

Popular Asian airline Scoot’s cheeky ribbing of controversial US budget airline Spirit is reaching new heights with a plan to name its new Boeing 787 aircraft “Inspiring Spirit”.

Similarity comparisons

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery and we’re certainly flattered that Spirit has recently changed their brand look and feel to something remarkably similar to Scoot’s (…) It seems only fair that I return the compliment by naming our newest aircraft after them. It’s all in the, well, spirit, of fun.

Campbell Wilson

CEO Scoot

Scoot is famous for its fun, cheerful, irreverent attitude – what Scoot likes to call “Scootitude” – and the approach Scoot is taking in response to Spirit’s brand flattery is becoming something of a web phenomenon.

First there was the video of Wilson alluding to Scoot sending a special message to Spirit’s Florida-based headquarters. Then, Scoot launched a blimp at Spirit’s headquarters carrying the message: “Hey Spirit, You can’t have our Scootitude #FlyScoot”.

Scoot blimp at Spirit

Wilson says the blimps were a bit of fun and he is enjoying the chance to draw attention to the brand similarities:

The parallels are obvious for anyone to see – from our signature yellow, to our illustrations, icons, style and tone. (…) But they can never replicate our Scootitude.

In the spirit of Scootitude, a detailed Scoot creative kit providing full details of its brand identity and templates available for re-use has already been sent to Sprit. The latest development is that Scoot is naming its newest 787 Dreamliner, being delivered from Boeing’s South Carolina plant next week, “Inspiring Spirit”.

Creative kit

Scoot won the top title of Marketer of the Year at the 2014 Marketing Excellence Awards in Singapore. It was also voted 2015’s Best Low Cost Airline Asia/Pacific by AirlineRatings.com.

Scoot, which started flying in June 2012, has carried more than 4M guests on a Singapore-based network spanning Sydney, Gold Coast, Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo, Tianjin, Shenyang, Nanjing, Qingdao, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Perth.  Scoot took delivery of the first of twenty 787 Dreamliner in February 2015 and provides – in addition to fantastic value airfares – a safe, reliable and contemporary travel experience with a unique attitude – Scootitude. By August 2015, Scoot will operate an all-787 fleet, offering more comfort and amenities including on-board Wifi Internet connectivity and in-seat power.