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And here's another sassy quip from Royal Jordanian Airlines

From Trump to American Airlines, Royal Jordanian has made a name for itself with irreverent ads making fun of current events
King Abdullah II of Jordan (C) attending a ceremony in Amman for the 50th anniversary of the national carrier Royal Jordanian in 2013. (Royal Jordanian Airlines/AFP)

Royal Jordanian Airlines is not one to shy away from having a poke at other airlines - or trolling the ban orders issued by the US administration.

In the latest in a slew of sarcastic social media ads making light of current news stories, it responded to the violent removal of a passenger from an American Airlines flight with this post.

The airline has become known for its sassy use of social media, particularly with its brazen trolling of Donald Trump.

The airline first took advantage of Trump’s controversial proposal for a "Muslim ban" during the presidential election campaign in November. It used his ban threat to fuel an airfare promotion, and the post soon went viral, reaching 450 million users, according to the airline's Jordanian advertising agency Memac Ogilvy. 

RJ's bookings to the US increased by 50 percent after the campaign, the agency claimed.

This ad - published on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram on 8 November 2016, just before the election results were announced - won Memac Ogilvy, based in Amman, a batch of advertising awards.

The ad showed economy and business class prices for flights to Chicago, Detroit and New York, with the line: “Just in case he wins… Travel to the U.S. while you’re still allowed to!”

It continued the theme with this irreverent play on the word "ban".

Then when the US announced its electronics ban, preventing passengers from six Middle Eastern countries from taking devices larger than cell phones onto flights, it launched a poetry competition.

The team behind these campaigns is led by Hadi Alaeddin, a Palestinian-Jordanian art director and designer. The agency told the Atlantic that the idea for the campaign was spontaneous. “It was real-time, on the spot. We didn’t have a strategy,” Aya Nasif, who handles client services for Royal Jordanian, explained. “Hadi just thought of it.”

Ater its initial success, the team released this tongue-in-cheek list of suggestions of things passengers should do in light of the ban.

As well as this helpful suggestion...

Not all of the airline's light-hearted marketing ploys have something to do with Trump. The Jordanian ad team said the airline was looking for a fun image to shake off its slightly stuffy branding.

Alaeddin told the Atlantic that Jordanians had a particular kind of humour that was rooted in the local region: “We have our own humour, culture, and way of talking. We have our personality. That’s our edge.”

 

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