Airline group gives ticket ads all-clear

Airline tickets could follow eggs and takeaway carton lids as the latest media opportunity.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is to allow advertising on tickets and ticket wallets for the first time in the UK.

IATA claims that nearly 20 million tickets and about 5 million ticket wallets are issued in the UK each year, mostly on scheduled flights.

An IATA spokesman says: “These important travel documents, which have a ‘must-read’ quality, are in people’s hands before they leave for the airport. Advertisers can therefore directly influence consumer behaviour with a relevant message. This new medium will appeal to brand owners and high street retailers which specifically target the travelling public.”

IATA has appointed Mediair to recruit advertisers to the medium.

Other new media spaces used recently include advertising on eggs, in urinals, deodorant ads on hand grips on the London Underground, cheese advertisements on bus wheel hubs and burger ads on bus tickets.

Last year, below-the-line agency Tomahawk created a campaign for the Inland Revenue to inform people about Self Assessment. The ads were run on the lids of takeaway cartons.