DENVER — A mystery man named "Ted" who buys lunch for strangers and sprinkles his name around on stickers, signboards and even a farmer's field appears to be the creation of United Airlines' new low-cost carrier.
United isn't talking about "Ted" or the blitz reported by newspapers in Colorado and Chicago.
"We think it's great there's so much buzz and interest," spokeswoman Jean Medina said Monday. "We'll have something to announce when the time is right."
The low-cost carrier, to be based at Denver International Airport, is part of Chicago-based United's effort to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. United is expected to announce the new carrier's launch in the next few weeks, the newspapers said.
The "Ted" campaign is designed to catch the attention of people in their teens and 20s, said Steve Whittier, creative director of Factory Design Labs in Denver.
Recently, "Ted" paid for everyone's lunch at a downtown restaurant and sprang for dessert for everyone at another restaurant. He spelled out his name in huge letters made with sod in one field north of Denver, The Greeley Tribune reported.
"They are playing to reality advertising," Whittier said. "They are definitely trying to go low-cost. They are trying to create an Internet cult following."
The big question is if it will work. Michael Boyd, an airline consultant in Colorado, doesn't think so.
"They can call it Ted; they can call it Trans-Deficit Airlines. It doesn't make any difference. The concept doesn't work," he said.
Boyd and other experts say low-fare airlines within mainline carriers have two major challenges: keeping costs low and avoiding confusion between different airline brand names.
Previous attempts have met with mixed results. In 2001, United dropped its Shuttle after costs ran too high. US Airways closed its MetroJet unit the same year.
In the 1990s, Delta launched its Express brand to compete with low-fare carriers. In April, Delta replaced that concept with Song, a new discount airline.