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Fake Airline Has Philly Giggling

'Derrie-Air' vowed to charge passengers by the pound

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 6, 2008 7:44 PM CDT
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(Newser) – An ad for "Derrie-Air" airlines made Philadelphia readers the butt of a publicity joke today, the AP reports. The owner of two newspapers and an ad agency revealed that the airline—which claimed to charge passengers by weight, and be carbon-neutral—was cooked up to prove the power of advertising. And it's generating online buzz aplenty, a media company says.

The ad aimed to “demonstrate the power of our brands in generating awareness and generating traffic for our advertisers, and put a smile on people's faces," said Philadelphia Media Holdings spokesman Jay Devine. "In other words," the website states, "smile, we're pulling your leg."

A plane takes off from Philadelphia International Airport.
A plane takes off from Philadelphia International Airport.   (AP Photo/George Widman, File)
A man has his body fat measured.
A man has his body fat measured.   (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld)
Advertisements for a fictitious airline that appeared in a one-day advertising campaign by Philadelphia Media Holdings in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.
Advertisements for a fictitious airline that appeared in a one-day advertising campaign by Philadelphia Media Holdings in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.   (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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