• by Larissa Faw , November 13, 2015

Many airlines show products in their ad campaigns that may, in reality, only be available on a small portion of their fleet.

Now, Virgin America's new "Seat View" campaign is enabling travelers to view inside their plane before they take off, thanks to the incorporation of Google Street View.

Virgin America claims it is the first U.S. airline to incorporate this technology into an advertising campaign. 

Developed with the airline’s creative agency Eleven, the campaign utilizes Google Street View to provide a 360-degree, interactive tour on board an Virgin America aircraft that includes up-close details about the airline’s Main Cabin, Red entertainment platform, Main Cabin Select and First Class Cabin. 

"For travelers who may be new to Virgin America, the Google Street View experience brings our product difference to life in an authentic way," says Abby Lunardini, VP, brand and communications, Virgin America. "There is no bait and switch. Flyers can tour the actual product they’ll fly on when they book us from any of our cities – just like they experience the rest of their world via Google Maps.” 

Not only does this campaign enable travelers to compare Virgin to competitors, but it allows the airline to highlight its own perks. "Virgin America's award-winning product, including WiFi, outlets, seatback entertainment and on demand food ordering on every flight, really speaks for itself," says Lunardini. 

To support this experience, Virgin America is introducing it via out-of-home (OOH) bus shelters where users can interact with the new technique on large-panel touchscreen in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. At the same time, immersive digital banner and online display ads will target  those living near the 22 destinations where Virgin America flies. 

“People have increasingly come to rely on Google Maps and Google Street View to explore their world – and we’re pleased to help travelers better understand their travel options,” said Deanna Yick, street view program manager, Google Maps.

This campaign follows Virgin America's and Eleven's Radical Departure campaign that recreated with puppets a 5 hour and 45 minute flight on what they called Blah Airlines to represent the mundane flight experience offered by the mainstays of the airline category.