A billboard at a US airport warning travellers ‘Did you leave your oven on? Sorry, have a nice trip!’ has gone viral, sparking a fierce debate over whether the stunt is clever marketing or a cruel joke at the expense of anxious flyers.
The advert, placed by Notre Dame Federal Credit Union at South Bend International Airport in Indiana, has drawn reactions from thousands online. TV showrunner Molly O’Rourke shared a video of the sign on Instagram with the caption ‘Why would you do this?!?’, calling it ‘anxiety inducing.’ The post has since amassed over 957,000 likes and 12,000 comments.
‘Truly cruel’ or ‘marketing genius’?
While a few commenters laughed and questioned the advert’s purpose, the majority were horrified. ‘The “Sorry, have a nice trip” … Gaslighting takes on a whole new meaning,’ said @tiffanybees. ‘This would send me straight home,’ added @hexandwaxcandleco, while @maeganhanlon asked, ‘Genuinely, why the f would they do that?’
‘This would ruin me,’ exclaimed @ericchristian, and @Iainibones called it ‘truly cruel.’ On Reddit, @mrduncansir42 said: ‘That’s diabolical,’ a comment that has received 114 upvotes.
Marketing expert Chris Wilson-Cambata told Metro: ‘There is a difference between using tension or discomfort creatively and deliberately poking at a very real source of anxiety because you think it might make somebody look twice at a poster.’ He added: ‘Anxiety is a proper issue for a lot of people. It is not a clever little marketing device. The test I would apply is very simple: does the joke work because it is funny, or because you have made somebody momentarily worried? If it is the latter, you are not being provocative or memorable. You are just being a bit of a d*ck.’
Wilson-Cambata argued the ad might miss the core purpose of advertising: ‘To create some kind of positive association with you.’ He said: ‘If the most memorable thing your brand does is make somebody halfway to their gate suddenly wonder whether their house is burning down, I am not convinced that is a particularly sophisticated communications strategy.’
‘It works commercially’
However, marketing expert Megan Dooley offered a different view. ‘This is a clever piece of marketing, because it weaponises a feeling that almost everyone has felt as a traveller,’ she told Metro. ‘It works commercially because it’s designed to be filmed and snapped, not just seen. A static banner at the airport wouldn’t have got anywhere near this level of reach, because it’s not the ad itself but the traveller’s reaction that turns it into content.’
Dooley continued: ‘This ad gets away with toeing the line because the payoff – “sorry, have a nice trip!” – immediately winks to the audience and signals it’s not a genuine threat.’
Whether viewed as brilliantly disruptive or downright cruel, the ad has ensured that Notre Dame Federal Credit Union stays firmly on travellers’ minds long after they board their flight.
How to soothe airport anxiety
Pre-flight panic is normal, but a nagging thought shouldn’t hijack your entire trip. Travel company co-founder Richard Young told Metro: ‘Give a spare set of keys to a family member, neighbour or trusted friend who can check the house if you wake up in the middle of the night worrying about whether you left the oven on or forgot the hair straighteners, which is a surprisingly common one.’
Sarah Rodrigues, from Avanti Travel Insurance, added: ‘Make a short list of the essentials you really need like your passport, medication, tickets, and important documents – rather than trying to prepare for every possible scenario. Build a simple leaving routine and stick to it. Switch off appliances, check the windows, lock the door and do your final check once. Repeating these same steps every time you travel means you’re less likely to worry that you’ve forgotten something.’
