You Go JetBlue...we need some comic relief from the financial disaster we face each day and the devastation it has caused many americans. I fly JetBlue every week and couldn'r be more pleased wuith their service, performance, comfort, amenities and PRICE. will.i.am is just seeking attention, ignore the idiot. Hey Thomas...cut your salary by some 35% and see how it effects you. I don't make near what JB CEO makes, but I don't have near the responsibility..do you Thomas?  I suppose you don't mind Bernie living in a 7 million dollar penthouse after he stole billions!!!

Sorry but I find the ad brilliant and honestly, I could care less if any big financial person who deceived the public, it's corporation by doing fraudulent activities that created this disaster. If these Big Wigs would have followed the rules and worked not only for the long term health of the companies, instead of their bottom lines, we wouldn't be here. Enjoy the free fall..you have what is coming to you.

JetBlue's minimal cost in this add has created a buzz that money can't buy. Well done. I doubt we'll see JetBlue execs heading to DC asking for a bailout.

I've definitely participated in making this a viral campaign, forwarding the link to the ads to my friends and coworkers.

Saying that the financial bigwigs actually produce *anything* of value takes a great stretch of the imagination, especially since they took value conjured out of nowhere, and turned things with real value to vapor.

But I do feel for the GM and Ford execs. They have some exciting vehicles coming out of the pipe starting this year that took many years to manifest. Some of them really do have people excited. Their companies are largely collateral damage in the bleak financial cataclysm, suffering along with Joe and Jane Sixpack, who even if they can afford to, are putting off that long anticipated vehicle purchase because they don't know what tomorrow will bring.

At least the auto companies create something real, out of atoms and molecules, instead of something ephemeral that is built on dreams of greed like "financial products".

Like everyone else, I'll begrudge even auto execs their private jets in times of corporate financial crisis, expecting them to make a show of solidarity with their customers by tightening their belts. But I refuse to blame the products they produced that until the current crisis, are what people wanted to buy. If they stay in business, my next car will be a GM, like my current car (15 years old and counting, and still reliable...though that does make me part of the problem ;) ).

Will.i.am and rallo, get over it. Maybe the two of you are working for one of those thieves out of wall street and you use to fly first class at our expense and now you have to fly like anybody else..COACH. Why you defend your people, they will throw you out in a heart beat so if you want to continue flying first class go a head and redeem some of the mileage you have left and after it's all over for you i will see you flying jetblue.

Business aviation isn't about "see how rich we are", it is actually about efficiency. There are 12,000 airports in the USA, and only a few hundred of them are served by commercial carriers (AA, United, Jet Blue, etc.).

If you need to go somewhere else, well, unless you fly your own aircraft, you just can't get there from here. Since deregulation, there are thousands of smal and not so small communities in the USA which have lost scheduled air service - so what do businesses in those communities do? They either move out or get their own aircraft - your choice!

Most "business" aircraft are not even jets - many of them are single engine prop aircraft, and the owner of the business is the pilot.

If you live in the SE, you can't get anywhere without going through Atlanta. If I wanted to go from Daytona to Tallahassee (200 miles), I could fly commercial via Atlanta, and it would take me all day to get there.

Alternatively, I could fly my own aircraft (which costs less than $70,000) and be there in under two hours, conduct my business and be home for dinner the same day - so you tell me which makes more sense?

Do the numbers - general aviation moves more people per day than the jetliners do, and to far more places. If you only go to New York, Chicago, LA, Miami or Atlanta, jets are fine - if you need to go somewhere else, you'll be out of luck.

Eliminating business aviation is like eliminating private automobiles - force everyone to take the bus, and if there is no bus stop nearby, too bad, no one can go there. There are over 300,000 privately owned light aircraft in this country - more than the rest of the world combined - and fewer than 5,000 jetliners. Private aviation WORKS, it makes jobs, it makes businesses profitable, and profitable businesses pay workers and then they can pay their mortgages.

(Maybe we should eliminate private computers, too - everyone can go to the library if they need to use a computer . . . )

Will.i.am - I lost 50% of my 401K in 2008 and have already lost 16% of what remained, so far, in 2009.

But i STILL think the JetBlue Ad is funny!

Miami Mike - I agree that, as a business, small craft & private craft is a wonderful freedom to have in the U.S.   I admire independent pilots as well as thier professionalism.  At any given time in the U.S. there are as many private planes in the air as there are commercial liners.   I also know people who to Private Plane Co-ops, which Big Business should have considered a long time ago.   Most companies (even the big auto makers) don't own their own limos any more.  They hire one for the day from a service.   The same should go for Private Jets.

This is all beside the point - - - the JetBlue AD is still funny.

Get with it people, this is advertising.  It's always about selling FEATURES and BENEFITS.  Over. And. Over. Again.  You're always trying to keep the message timely, so why not weave the current economic situation into it?  If JetBlue picks up a few ex-corp jet types fine, but I don't honestly believe that's the target...I think it's a clever, funny, entertaining way to sell the airline and what it's about.

Mockery is one of my favorite things. The print ad was funny. The radio ad is hilarious. Jetblue is a great brand, and I've always enjoyed their irreverent marketing campaigns. I don't feel one bit of sorrow for anyone with a C in his or her job title that is now feeling the pinch because they were irresponsible in the way they ran their company and is now begging the grandchildren of today's hardworking US taxpayer for a bailout. Let 'em take AmTrak.

Flying any US airline other than Jetblue feels like a punishment - a punishment that is compounded exponentially if you're traveling with kids.

Miami Mike, nobody is arguing against private aviation. My grandfather was a pilot and I would much rather have hopped in his Piper and flown the 210 miles to his house than driven it any day of my life. But, unlike a private corporate jet, a Piper or a Cessna doesn't cost $5500 per hour to operate. Add in the cost of purchasing the aircraft, storage and maintenance, high-end booze and onboard meals prepared by a private chef and it ABSOLUTELY is an extravagence. Private charters are exactly as convenient and can be arranged at a much lower cost.  

I was one of the few that was not outraged when the auto execs flew to DC on corporate jets for what was, arguably, the most important meeting of their careers. Imagine how bad it would have looked if one of them had shown up 4 hours late because his flight was delayed and he missed his connection in Newark.

JetBlue  is the best airline in the U.S.  best  customer service, best value  etc.  no other airline hav achived what Jetblue have.  jetBlue Boston's #1 airline

I've never flown on Jet Blue so I can't comment on their service.  But I haven't stopped smiling and grinning after reading their ad.  

My grandmother used to say "if you can't stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen".  And in one of those business development classes, a rich author said "start with the end in mind".

Bottom line, all those fat cats who made more in a day what most people make in a year, and did it by smoke and mirrors as opposed to building something of real lasting value - they should feel some heat now.

They should be embarrassed.   And they should be the butt of a lot of jokes.

We don't need to do anything more to them because God will take care of them (reference to the rich man suffering from thirst).    

There are rich people who have provided real value (like Bill Gates and Paul Allen).   And there are those rich people who are thieves like Madoff.  

C'mon.  Think about who Jet Blue's target audience is.  This is brilliant, and plays directly to that audience.

Yes, it is good for a laugh.  Anybody who thinks these fat cats are REALLY broke as real people are broke is kidding yourselves.  They still have more money in their "ruined" states than most of us will see in a lifetime of honest work, saving, living within our means, etc.  We would all like to think they have been brought down to the real world and reality, but the kind of money these fat cat thieves have accumulated, stashed away, etc. - they can live high on the hog the rest of their lives in a fashion we can only dream about. Remember, average Joes go to jail for fraud, the Bernie Madoffs go home to their million dollar penthouses.  Poor things, they may have to lose a private jet or two, a couple of multi million dollar homes on the shore, a yacht or two - I can't write anymore, I am going to weep for them now.

This whole mess is created by the politicians tat just want to line their pockets. (they're fools and the definition of a fool is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results).  How much money are we going to put into the banks before it is realized that it isn't working.  The world will not end of Citi goes under or AIG or GM, it might be better because the ither banks and Insurance grouos will realize they have to compete for business rather than a bail out.

I say to H##L with the CEO's who have driven us to this point. It is absoultly outragious that while asking for money from the government, they are giving themselves bonuses!! If a company gets government money I say cap saliries at 500,000 a year.
  If this was done, along with taxing excessive profits for companies maybe prices would come down to a reasonable level. We are in this mess because of greed which in the 80's and 90's was good!!

Oh, hush up critics of this ad. Jetblue has identified something that should be recognized throughout the business world and even on a much broader scale. There needs to be a laugh amongst all of this. It is more irony and lack of ethics that relates to the fact that failing executives show up to Washington in a private, luxury jetliner to request bailout money. This ad is not irony. This is just straight up humor! It is a virtue to recognize that no matter how unfortunate a situation can be, the most efficient and therapeutic way to unclutter the brain from anxiety is the notion that there is laughter in everything and anything. Coping with situations with jitters and wanting to pull your hair out of your head is not going to make you work any harder to resolve an issue if you can't take a step back and laugh before trying to resolve it.

GREAT AD !!
I make good money working for the big blue (wal-mart). just shows what we have been doing all along helps all. my bosses boss flys coach (always has). we canceled a big expensive meeting in spite of record profits .
why?
keeps prices low for the folks on main street . far to many companies forget its the family trying to get by that makes this economy go. so for those of you hurting i hope things get better soon.
Wil.I.am dont want or need your patronage.

Guess what my husband and tens of thousands of his collegues repaired and built corporate jets and are now out of jobs. They are highly skilled in their fields with no new jobs to be found in part because of the economy, but also in part because of the class warfare that has been waged. When's the last time a poor person hired YOU?

I'd love to sit next to one of those fat cats so I could spill my drinks and food on them. Maybe I could get airsick, too.

Best Ad ever!!!!!!!! couldn't stop laughing, about time someone put them in their places.

Great ad ... that this discussion is going on proves it.  Hearing the Wall Street set whine about class warfare here makes it even funnier.  I don't think they understand that there's zero sympathy for them and, if anything, we're all disgusted that their unearned bonuses and grandiose pay hasn't been clawed-back (well, at least not yet).  

They were happy with the free market when it meant they could charge whatever fees they wanted on credit-cards, gut entire neighborhoods with their foreclosure mills, and destroy businesses with leveraged buyouts.  I don't think they realize how much people revile them, their companies, and their way of life now that we're all footing the bill as they live off of corporate welfare.

It's not class envy; it's an American demand that everybody plays by the same rules, that we don't have an aristocracy.  But since Reagan we've been holding up the CEO-set like little King's, regardless of their performance.  Now that they've destroyed the economy we're happy to see them ridiculed.

TOOO FUNNY!!!

Willy hits the nail right on the head with his comments (see Wed. March 4).
The greedy bozos who are living high off the hard earned savings of the "middle class" should be ashamed and we deserve to have a little fun at their expense.

Kudos to JetBlue's agency for quickly nailing down a light-hearted approach to a serious issue, and one that will resound with the average consumer (they, not corporate bigwigs, are the intended target).

I have bumped into some former bigwigs who are now flying coach. They're easy to spot: they usually cannot find their correct seat, properly stow their carry-on or even find the restroom without help. And, they're usually the same people who try to push their way out of the plane the second the hatch opens. (standing in line is for ordinary folks, apparently). Welcome to reality!

Oh come on, William!  Your tone suggests you are probably one of the fat cats Jet Blue was talking to. No one else here feels bad for those jerks! Criminals come in all shapes, sizes and disguises. Bravo, Jet Blue! Love it!

As someone who does have a "c" in my title and still has a job (although for a company to small to have corporate planes, forget corporate jets) i think JetBlue's ad is both timely and funny.  Even though it's definitely tongue-in-cheek and has a certain edge of gallows humor, it's funny and will have the desired effect - the majority of the flying public will remember it the next time they're booking a flight.

Oh, willi, get a clue and get a life.

Oh so sad for the rich have to live like the rest of us! I am working & going to school to hopefully become one of those rich bastards! I do intend on flying among the masses! I think that Will.i.am would do well to remember that much fun is made of being poor to help alieviate some of the stress of our economic woes! Just because an airline is willing to target those who have finally experienced some of the stress others live with daily, does not mean that we should cry them for shame!

The fact that they are willing to target these elite, former 1st classers, means that they too understand that these are rough times for all & that humor is often our only escape from the burdens of regular life. That is not to say that any of these guys understand "normal" American life! If you have more than 100k sitting in the bank or do not have to live paycheck to paycheck, do not expect any simpathies from the hudled masses!

Enjoy the laugh at the expense of the elite instead of them laughing at you for once! I promise, you will feel better after you do. If you do not, well take your savings account & buy a sense of humor!

LOVE IT

Amen to Jet Blue - You people working for that company u keep on flyin and I'll keep on  buyin tickets for your airplane seats. As a matter of fact, this ad is sooo good I really WON"T forget the company name!! THAT is good advertising!!!

OK OK everyone chill out.  This ad is funny.  But some of the comments below it are a little over the top.  We don't abhor wealth in this country, and CEO bonuses / performance were not the major cause of the economic meltdown.  But many of them were incompetent and belong on Jet-Blue.  Welcoming them is in order for an ad campaign.

I'd like to know one thing.  Why are we after execs like this all the time?  Your favorite movie stars make more money than them.  If you think Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt would work for less $$$ to make sure Warner Bros stock holders get good value on their investment you're mistaken.

Sorry BILL, you might have to sit next to a working person on you next trip.

Love YA JETBLUE. You are to cool.

If you can't laugh at that ad, then you're in for a rough time in the next four years!  Lighten up, it's a really funny ad.  I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's creating a barrier between classes.  Having known both wealthy and struggling people, I think that this ad is actually geared towards us who are stuck somewhere in the middle as far as income goes.  And it did make me laugh out loud.  

Ok...just one more to Wil. Yup we lost our jobs, Lost our house, had to move somewhere else to find work. You are not funny Wil! What has been done to us the American tax payer and the world buyers is Fraud! The commercial is funny, but what I find appauling is that jail isn't good enough for financial misrepresentation and lack of fiduciary responsibility (theft) by greedy self serving sacks of crap. They have created class envy. They shouldn't be allowed a seat on a dung wagon but as my parents would have said "Run out of of town on a rail". Hope your not one of them...WE are trying to fix our mess and could use a cheap seat to see the family. A little humility would be in order now. Don't know the word? Look it up.

It's funny for a minute. Until you realize everyone else is downgrading too. It's not like a bunch of 'middle class' folks will now be rubbing elbows w/ CEO's and hedge fund managers on JetBlue flights. Those middle class folks will now have to downgrade to driving or taking no vacation or business trip at all. The high-flyers will still be one up on them, and flying commercial (even in coach) will be the 'new luxury'.

William, the 'movers and shakers' to which you refer are the ones that put us in this situation.  These are the movers and shakers that produce nothing of value to society other than move money around and get paid well for it.  People that grow food for this country are paid peanuts, while these 'movers and shakers' are paid millions.  Something's wrong with this picture...

Jude said in his post on Wednesday, March 04, 2009 10:25 AM.................  I think the commercial is funny, however, I do not share the view with others about "fat-cat execs" etc. At least corporate executives have a hand in actually PRODUCING something useful. Why don't I ever hear anyone crying about the absurdly and obscenely high salaries of actors and athletes? They produce nothing of value, nothing tangible. Yet no one ever complains about how much they make..................

A good point, Jude.  I have equal comtempt for these wastes of skin as well.

Anyone who cannot see the intrinsic humor in this brilliant Jet Blue ad, are the rapacious sects milking their employees dry by purloining their pensions and health care benefits in order to line their pockets with exorbitant salaries. Just a fraction of these CEOs’ salaries or bonuses could pay for health insurance for many of the cogs in their wheels. Why is it that the CEOs of the companies at which our parents worked took care of their employees with pensions, health care and profit sharing and still made 37 times more than the average salaries of their employees?  Why is it that today’s CEOs make nearly 400 times the average salaries of their employees and than p#ss and moan they can’t afford to supply health care and pension plans? What has changed so much in the workforce to account for such lavish recompense for these CEOs? Have they stopped golfing long enough to spend actually 40+ hours in the office like their overworked and underpaid employees?
I bet too, these are the same people who are offended by plain speaking, i.e. speaking without political correctness eviscerating our vernacular – class envy? Pluhhhseee! Don’t you mean ‘class challenged longing?’
As far as I can see, these CEOs and, My Lord ‘Will.i.am,’ need to wake up and realize the feudal system ended some 600 years ago with the first great plague. Back then, with such a loss in the workforce, the lords and ladies of the land had to start fending for themselves. Perhaps this economic crisis is a form of plague and the lords and ladies of this day and age, i.e. the CEOs, will have to start consorting with the manual labor force. Welcome to the real world. I hope to meet you aboard a Jet Blue flight. I just may be able to introduce you to Schlitz beer & pork rinds. Mmm… working class munchies!
You go Jet Blue! Bring on the sarcasm!  In it we, the little people, take great delight.

Thomas, it's great that you are making 45K! Some of us don't even get that much. And I'm sure that you know EXACTLY what it's like to run an entire company. The fact that the CEO of JetBlue cut his pay to something a little more reasonable is to be aplauded, not decried. Others would have just gone somewhere else (which many CEOs with salary caps have done)

I love the commercial, and I think it's great that JetBlue uses this (along with all its other "Jetting" commercials) to keep their brand at the top of your mind, even as flying gets crappier and crappier. I'm definitely going to consider them next time I fly.

'I finally told him to stop whining so the little people could row in peace.'

WendyLou, that's the best line I've heard all day!

1st, I'd like to address the comment about actors' and athletes' salaries. You may not hear the complaints about their obnoxious salaries, but I do. I live in a place where people buy their own equipment and play sports for fun...not money. I think it's ridiculous that athletes would turn down, say a $65 million (or whatever they're getting paid nowadays) contract because "it's not enough money." WTF? I'd gladly play football for 65 M a year.

As for the person who doesn't blame Ford and GM...I do. I have a friend who tinkered with his car, with help from his father, and got it to give 100+ mpg. He and his father sold the design/modifications to some company. (I don't remember if it was a car company or a gasoline company like Exxon.) Yet, we still don't see all-gasoline engines giving 100+ mpg do we? I also know an older gentleman who bought a new car in the '50s or '60s that also gave him 100+ (or all but). He called the CAR company wondering why his car was so different from his friends' cars. He was told to bring it to the garage and they would "fix it." They fixed it alright. Changed the carburetor and some other things, and then the car gave the same 8-10 mpg as other cars of the day. Don't tell me the car companies (and gas companies) don't have a hand in this. There is no reason to keep this technology (which is probably now forgotten as the then-head-haunchos are now retired or dead) from the American people...or any people for that matter. We knew China and other countries were poised for an industrial revolution that would put strain on the current oil production, driving costs sky-high. But no, they can't release information because "gas is cheap." And then they wonder why the record-high gas prices was the final straw that broke the American economy's back. Until the average FTE took out the money they would need for gas for the week, at least 1/3 to 1/2 (or more for those working full time in low paying jobs) of their paycheck was gone. Then the rest of it had to go for food for the week. It's no wonder the average person couldn't make their mortgage payments.

Yes, the bank and Wall Street CEOs had a lot to do with this, but so did the car companies that were in cahoots with the gasoline companies to keep prices up as long as they could, as well as other industries that are taking the heat right now.

I think we need to clean house in government, and all the CEOs of any company. I there there should be a cap on CEO pays. Why should they get 100s of millions a year, plus bonuses and perks for sitting on their duff signing papers or making calls? There should be something to either help raise minimum wages (at least make sure anyone who has a job also has health and prescription coverage [and don't get me started on the outrageous prescription prices]) or to drive down the costs of things we buy. Also, for anyone who does not know this...at least in the state of PA, if a waitress makes $30 in tips A MONTH she is not entitled to minimum wage. She can be paid as little as $2-3/hour. As if $30/month is going to make up that difference in her paycheck...perhaps $30/DAY would make it a little closer.

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