In advance of this weekend's Superbowl LVII, United Airlines has revealed its new commercial to be shown during the big game. Contrary to expectations, the airline has taken a surprising approach to the content of the advert for its lucrative mid-game, prime-time slots.

A different approach this year

This weekend's Superbowl NFL season finale is expected to be bigger than ever. With worldwide television viewing figures coming in at around 112 million last year, air time during the game's commercial breaks is highly sought after and extremely expensive.

United has secured slots during this season's game to be played on Sunday, February 12th, 2023, between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, at the home of the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Arizona. However, unlike previous United Airlines commercials, the airline has taken a novel approach to this year's offering.

In a unique 30-second advert to be shown specifically in its Denver heartland and the greater Colorado Springs area, the advert primarily addresses the chaos that engulfed the US air travel industry over the recent holiday season.

Photo: Denver International Airport

What does the advert show?

The specially produced advert, entitled 'United-An Airline Built For Denver,' has a decidedly back-to-basic feel about it. Even the very first caption that appears at the start of the advert proudly states that "This isn't a flashy Big Game Commercial."

Airline adverts have historically relied on bringing the viewer images of smiling crew, shiny planes, and bustling airport terminals brimming with excited air travelers. However, United's message is simple. It states that the airline succeeded in bringing more families together through Denver International Airport than any other over the recent holiday season.

This is despite inclement weather that brought widescale disruption to the state of Colorado over Christmas 2022. The imagery presented in the short advert focuses on a family enjoying the holiday season together, ostensibly thanks to the efforts of United and its employees in Denver.

How did United perform at Denver over the holidays?

According to data released by United in advance of the advert's official launch today, United was third in the ranking of airlines in terms of flights canceled from December 21st to December 26th, 2022. The airline canceled 9% of its scheduled operations in Denver, coming behind American Airlines at 5% and JetBlue at 6%.

In terms of the percentage of scheduled seats canceled at Denver between December 18th, 2022, and January 5th, 2023, the airline canceled 5.5% of its capacity, compared to American at 1.7%, JetBlue at 3%, and Delta at 4.7%. Although perhaps not the best-performing airline at Denver during the holiday season, given the above statistics, the sheer volume of passengers carried by airline through the airport backs up the claims made in the advert.

Photo: Denver International Airport

Aiming to win back passengers

United is Denver's top airline, with the most passengers carried and the most departures daily from the airport. The airline serves 170 destinations across nine countries from Denver. The airline has 8,600 employees based there, including over 1,000 based at the carrier's Flight Training Center.

Photo: United Airlines

In an attempt to win back the loyalty of disrupted passengers over the holiday period and attract new customers to the airline, its latest commercial is geared to do just that. While its Superbowl advert may not be flashy, its no-nonsense stance might be what passengers who might otherwise be tempted to fly on a competitor from Denver will want to see.

What do you think about United's Superbowl advert? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.