“Case Study: Southwest Airlines Launches Superhero-Themed Extra Legroom Campaign”

How Southwest Airlines Used AI & Superheroes to Launch Its Extra Legroom Upgrade”

Background

Southwest Airlines partnered with NBC’s new Jimmy Fallon–hosted show On Brand to crowdsource fresh advertising ideas. The featured challenge: design a campaign to promote Southwest’s extra legroom upgrades and assigned seating.

The winning contestant, Mahiri Takai, a Dallas resident, delivered a bold and playful concept—making customers feel like superheroes for choosing Southwest’s new seating upgrades.

Winning Concept

Theme: “Superheroes of the Sky” – positioning Southwest passengers as heroes when they select more comfort and control.
Visuals: A comic-book inspired campaign with bold panels, action typography, and a plane wrap styled like a superhero comic strip.
Objective: To humorously showcase extra legroom and assigned seating, while celebrating the fun, approachable brand personality Southwest is known for.

Interactive Dallas Activation

Southwest Airlines brought in Interactive Dallas to celebrate the campaign reveal. On the night of the announcement, our AI Booth transformed every guest into their very own superhero comic character.

Guests stepped into our booth and instantly saw themselves re-imagined in comic-book art style, complete with heroic poses, bright colors, and Southwest-branded backdrops.
The activation created highly shareable digital content for guests while reinforcing the superhero narrative of Mahiri’s winning campaign.
Guests left with both printed keepsakes and digital versions ready for social media, extending Southwest’s reach beyond the live event.

Related Campaign Activities

This campaign builds on Southwest’s tradition of playful, customer-focused promotions:

Past activations include crowning a young fan as a “Southwest Superhero” during a birthday celebration (featured in a Facebook video).
The new On Brand campaign with Mahiri pushes this theme further, tying heroic storytelling directly to a tangible product benefit—extra space and comfort in flight.

Results & Impact

Immersive Storytelling: The AI superhero booth brought the winning concept to life in real time, letting customers become the campaign.
Engagement: Hundreds of guests shared their comic-style superhero portraits online, amplifying Southwest’s playful branding message.
Brand Alignment: Interactive Dallas delivered an activation that was on-theme, highly visual, and perfectly aligned with Southwest’s legacy of fun, customer-first marketing.

Key Takeaway

Southwest Airlines successfully leveraged interactive event technology to amplify the excitement of a national campaign launch. By partnering with Interactive Dallas, they didn’t just announce the superhero concept—they let their customers live it.

Every great brand story deserves to be told—and experienced. At Interactive Dallas, we help companies transform their campaigns into unforgettable moments that spark engagement, build loyalty, and generate lasting impressions. Whether you’re launching a new product, celebrating a milestone, or creating a buzzworthy activation, our team delivers interactive experiences that become case studies of their own.

📩 Let’s create your story today. Contact us at info@InteractiveDallas.com or call (214) 901-5006 to start planning your next activation.