It’s not unusual for consumers to complain about airlines, but this time the objections came in before anyone even stepped foot into an airport.

Spirit Airlines recently ruffled some feathers due to the racy language it used in an ad campaign. The Minneapolis–Saint Paul based company celebrated acquiring its 69th plane with a $69 discount ticket for several flights. The print ad went straight for the lowbrow association of the number, stating:

“We’ve been waiting to hit 69 planes for years. It’s our favorite number – ever since we were twelve and found that magazine under our brother’s bed (the one with the fantastic articles). #69 is perfect: just the right size, with a cockpit that’s in your face (because it’s bright yellow). Use your mouth to spread the word: Spirit is in an even better position to get you where you’re going. We’re popping an epic Bare Fare in celebration! $69.00 round trip!”

The raunchy imagery and sophomoric puns didn’t sit well with some, including a reporter for local TV station KMSP, who called the ad “so juvenile it led us to wonder if Spirit’s website was hacked.”

As prurient and unprofessional as it may seem, the campaign actually isn’t out of character for Spirit. A Spirit rep responded to the criticism with a statement reading:

“Spirit isn’t your typical airline. In most cases different means saving our customers a lot of money on their air travel. When it comes to advertising, different means we don’t spend a lot of money on advertising – because that just increases fares. But we’re also different because our ads are fun and often irreverent. The goal with our marketing is to provide information about our low fares to our customers, in a unconventional manner, without the ads costing so much that we need to increase fares to cover those costs. The vast majority of our customers think they’re funny, and accept them for what they are. We realize and accept that a small group of people might not think the same way.”

So what’s your opinion, PopWrappers? Do you think the ad is offensive and inappropriate? Or is it all in good fun and everyone should just lighten up? Sound off in the comments!

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