Repost Sunday: Sorry, I Just Vomited On Your Advertisement

I rerun some of my older posts on Sundays as a way to highlight stories that you may have missed. Just think of it as 'thought recycling .' This was originally posted July 19, 2006.

This one comes from the ‘Just Plain (or should I say Plane) Weird File.’ US Airways has announced it will begin selling advertising space on its barf bags (or in flight nausea collectors, to be politically correct) in a few months. I could see this happening in those great Airplane movies as a gag, but in real life?

My first question is how much will an ad cost that will most likely be seen in the last few fleeting moments before an airline passenger hurls? How many people do you know that board a plane, get their pillow, adjust their seat, fold their tables to an upright position and then search for the barf bag in case they get sick? The other question that comes to mind is what type of advertising is appropriate for a bag that is only used when someone needs to empty the contents of their last meal? I guess you could sell ad space for Dramamine, Pepto or Tums.

Of course there is a whole range of advertising you could use to induce someone into getting sick. On second thought, I’ll skip listing any of them as I just finished dinner. I know the profit margin for most major airlines is getting tight, but I sure didn’t see this coming as a form of revenue. What’s next, the person in the seat next to you pulls down the window shade and there’s an ad for Windex or Pella Windows? Oh, the possibilities…Just wait until the in-flight announcements and safety speech are preceded by paid advertisements from the airline's sponsors!