Southwest Airlines has recruited Denver sport mascots Dinger, Rocky and Bernie to help with a new marketing campaign that highlights what the carrier touts as flexible policies on baggage, change and cancellation fees and reward points.
The Dallas-based airline kicked off a national publicity push called “The Big Flex” last week and unveiled ads and signs Monday in Denver. The Denver-focused advertising features Dinger from the Colorado Rockies, Rocky from the Denver Nuggets and Bernie from the Colorado Avalanche.
In a bit of good timing, Southwest’s local campaign got underway as the Nuggets won the first-round series of the NBA playoffs and the Avalanche closed out the first round in the NHL to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Video spots using team mascots were shot at Denver International Airport.
“They celebrate our sponsorship relationships with the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Rockies, utilizing the mascots in humorous fashion,” said Jonathan Clarkson, vice president of marketing at Southwest.
Southwest’s Denver marketing campaign heading into the summer travel season includes a video that follows a traveler running into Rocky, Bernie the St. Bernard and Dinger on his way through DIA to make a flight. Each mascot also stars in individual spots.
The three hometown mascots’ roles in the “The Big Flex” campaign focus on such Southwest policies as each passenger getting to check two bags free of charge.
Other ads promote that Southwest doesn’t charge fees for changes or cancellations and the airline’s reward points don’t expire. In the case of cancellations, notice must be given at least 10 minutes before departure.
Clarkson said Southwest is intent on growing its share of travelers in Denver, home to the airline’s largest number of flights. The carrier has 316 daily flights to nearly 100 destinations and has 40 gates at the airport.
“Denver is a large employee base for us. We’ve got nearly 7,000 of our employees working there,” Clarkson said.
Southwest recently announced a handful of cutbacks to flights out of Denver. Starting in August, Southwest said it is ending flights to four airports and scaling back flights to Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airline said the cuts are due in part to challenges caused by the delay of Boeing aircraft and below-projected first-quarter earnings this year.
Clarkson said the new marketing campaign “heavily leans into” what makes Southwest Airlines different. He said research shows that people want flexibility when they’re flying and become frustrated when things aren’t flexible or feel they are being “nickel and dimed.”
Southwest is reiterating its policies for existing customers and targeting younger travelers — millennials and Generation Z — who are starting to make up a bigger portion of the flying public.
The airline’s share of the Denver market in 2024 is 32.3%, second to United Airlines at 48.8%
Southwest is building a 100,000-square-foot provisioning and ground support equipment maintenance building and 30,000-square-foot cargo facility in Denver. Both are expected to be open in 2025.