News Release
Continental Airlines Commercials Feature Yankees Manager Joe Torre and Mets Manager Bobby Valentine
NEW YORK CITY, October 1, 1999 -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL and CAL.A) announced today that two of New York City’s best known professional baseball personalities are appearing together in a series of radio and television commercials featuring the airline’s "Work Hard, Fly Right" motto. Created by N.W. Ayer & Partners, the ads mark the first time that Joe Torre and Bobby Valentine have ever participated together in a commercial venture. The ads, slated to air this week in the New York City area, are in the form of :15, :30 television and :60 radio commercials.
This unique partnership came about when Continental President and Chief Operating Officer Greg Brenneman approached N.W. Ayer & Partners with the idea of using the two baseball managers in a Continental commercial. With the instrumental help of Mets Announcer Fran Healy and in the midst of pennant season, the concept became reality. Shooting was done Sunday, September 26 at Newark International Airport, a Continental Airlines hub, aboard a DC-10 aircraft.
Even though the Yankees and the Mets play in different leagues, these spots are intended to poke fun at the infamous team rivalry. The ads feature Mr. Torre and Mr. Valentine. For the television commercials, there is no announcer voice and the following lines appear on the screen:
They don’t agree on much
Like who’s got the best shortstop
The whole DH thing
Where to find the best scungilli
Then, it cuts to a shot of Bobby Valentine sitting on an airplane, Joe Torre sits next to him and they stare at each other.
The following sentences appear on screen:
At least we have them seeing eye to eye
The airline New Yorkers can agree on.
Continental Airlines is the official airline of the New York Yankees and flew the World Champion team home after the 1998 World Series.
Continental is the fifth largest airline in the U.S., offering more than 2,200 departures daily to 130 domestic and 85 international destinations. Operating major hubs in Houston, Newark and Cleveland, Continental (http://www.continental.com) has extensive service throughout the Americas, and to Europe and Asia. Continental recently initiated a strategic global alliance with Northwest Airlines. Continental is in the top half of Fortune magazine’s, "100 Best Companies to Work for in America," and has won first or second place FrequentFlyer magazine and J.D. Power awards for the four consecutive years. Continental has received numerous awards for its BusinessFirst premium cabin (Condé Nast Traveler, OAG Official Airline Guides, Entrepreneur and Smart Money magazines), OnePass frequent flyer program (InsideFlyer’s Freddie Awards) and overall operations and management (Air Transport World’s 1997 Airline of the Year).