Airports get their own theme songs

More and more airports are (trying to become) destinations in themselves, and as such, airport branding is emerging as a tactic for getting travelers to choose one airport or city over another. We wrote about celebrities making announcements at various airports, but here's a new one: theme songs.

Although I don't really think that 'theme song" is the best designation for this activity ("advertising ditty" seems more appropriate), it's hard to deny that once you get a jingle stuck in your head, it's hard to get it out. That's why, years later, I can still sing commercial songs like "Who likes Trident? I do I do," and "Plop plop fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is!" Although airports aren't likely to freshen your breath or help with indigestion, they do hope to create an experience memorable enough that the next time you're buying your tickets, you pick theirs for a layover or destination.

The Hunstville, Texas airport got a theme song in the hopes that it will help convince travelers to choose it over Nashville or Birmingham, Alabama. And LAX took an older (sadder) song and changed its tune to be perky and fun. Southwest Airlines handed out CDs of the song to all of its incoming L.A. passengers in 2003. I even found one for the Hyderabad, India airport.

Filed under: North America, United States, Airports