This is not a plane, this is not a passenger

7 Up, the soft drink company had an ad campaign in the 1980's to make itself known as the Uncola.  The idea was to differentiate the 7 Up brand from its competitors in the ruthless cola that took place between Pepsi, Coke, and other soft drink makers.  The idea stems from the fact that consumers only have room in their heads for a limited amount of data regarding each market.  By telling consumers that 7 Up was a drink that wasn't a cola, but rather an uncola, they would be able to segment itself apart from the Cola wars into a new idea.

With this concept fresh in my brain, I was reading the WSJ this morning and came across an article on British Air launching a new airline.  The ad copy shows two advertisements.  The first one shows the front of a Jet with the phrase "THIS IS NOT A PLANE" and the second one shows an attractive female business executive laughing with the phrase "THIS IS NOT A PASSENGER".  In the same way 7 Up's campaign was an effort to differentiate itself from its competitors, BA is aiming to change the way passengers view their airline.  

This advertisement taught me that a technique used in 1980 can still be effective today.  Despite the many changes in technology and the means of communicating with consumers tastes and preferences, the techniques and methods used in appealing to the brain are still similar to those ad agencies used 25+ years ago.