Two of Philadelphia’s news publications recently drew ire for publishing false ads for fictional airline, Derrie-Air. The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News placed false ads in their newspapers complete with a fictional website, FlyDerrie-Air.com. The tongue-in-cheek campaign, meant to test the reach of the pubs in print and online, describe a new way to fly. (They recorded a click-through rate of 1.25% compared to average of 0.5%) Derrie-Air determines your ticket price based upon your weight. Of course, given the recent pricing moves by domestic airlines consumers would flock to the these ads due to curiosity or sincere interest. Ethicists decry the campaign but I…
