Everyone knows that moment: headphones in, head back, finally settled into your seat and ready to nap before heading to your destination. Unfortunately, you’re interrupted by the captain on the loudspeaker, asking you to turn to the aisle and watch a disengaged flight attended run through the motions of the same safety demonstration you have seen countless times. United Airlines put away their standard safety presentation, taking a multimodal approach with an energetic video shown to passengers before their flight; finally something fresh. Not only did this video serve as a safety guide, but it was also a marketing ploy for United. Bright colors filled the screen, ethnic music rung through my headphones, and faces of smiling locals enjoying their culture brought me joy. United strives to remind us of the bliss we feel while traveling. The scenes of color being tossed in India, lanterns in China and big pretzels in Western Europe, while stereotypes, leave you feeling excited about your next journey with United.
If I was flying United, I am sure this video would make me feel satisfied with my choice. They intended to leave consumers with a desire to book more flights, see more places and explore more cultures, and I think their message was received. Their multimodal approach screams “look at all these cool cultures, you can experience them, just get on a United flight!” This would not be accomplished with a trifold infographic- or even worse, the flight attendant demonstration in the middle of the aisle.
While the music and moving shots keep you engaged, the employees (or actors) voices remain in a semi-serious tone, giving all the same important safety information you would receive on any flight. By contrasting some of the excitement with neutral tones, consumers are put at ease and reassured that safety is taken seriously. As fun as the video style is, I would not want my airline to be carefree when it comes to my safety.
This video focuses on people, which makes sense when you think of how travel brings us together, making the world feel smaller. I commend United for showing a variety of ethnicities. Their issue is that we never hear their voices; only the well dressed American employees are given the chance to speak. This could be unintentional, or it could have been part of their marketing technique and reveal something about the audience they were trying to reach. Are they assuming their American consumer base will only take Americans who sound like them seriously? Regardless, it was a missed opportunity to bring more cultural diversity to the screen with different accents and languages. Nonetheless, the human connection is still strongly felt in this video.
These scenes represent three occasions in this short film that I would consider a missed opportunity. All three show a sharply dressed, American United employee, blurred behind them are people of so many ethnicities and cultures. While the ethnic music in the back round is great, bringing more of that culture front and center by hearing the voices of these people would be even better.
This was the one time in the video (that I noticed) where someone with an accent/ language other than American English spoke. Unfortunately, his role in the video was simply to bring an umbrella to the American employee. I found it distasteful that this was the one and only time another language was spoken, it seems to reveal something about United’s values.
The National Council of Teachers of English reminds us that “multimodality reminds us of the richness of all texts”(2), similarly to how this short yet significant video reminds us of the richness of culture and the thrill we feel learning about those other than our own. United’s multimodal approach is one I expect other companies will follow suit in, hopefully bringing even more diversity to the travel industry.
Greta Ghei 