Skip to main content

Southwest Airlines Community

Behind the Scenes of Southwest's New Denver Advertisements

Not applicable

Hello! My name is Roosevelt Board; I am an Intern at Southwest Airlines for the summer. I’ve been given the opportunity of a lifetime to work in the Marketing Department, on the Advertising Team.

My first week on the job was quite memorable and not what I'm used to. I was given the opportunity to go to Denver, Colorado for a TV commercial shoot. That’s right! I went to the Mile High City my very first week! It was my first time in Denver, and you should add it to your list of places to visit.



The Advertising Team was there to shoot spots (commercials) for our new Denver-specific advertising campaign that launches today, because Southwest is Dedicated to Denver. And not only was I able to go to Denver for the first time, I got to go to a photo shoot and a production shoot, too.  I thought the photo shoot was, hands down, one of the coolest experiences of the whole trip.

Photo shoots, surprisingly, are very time consuming. From wardrobe change, to using different props, and even doing the same pose up to 20 times but in a slightly different way each time. The whole process was very different from what I expected, but I truly gained some insight on how much it takes just to do a photo shoot. The whole process took over eight hours, but each hour was a learning experience so I couldn’t complain. I was just grateful to be there.

The next few days on my trip we had to film the spots. This might come as a surprise to you but filming a thirty-second commercial took nearly half a day. Filming a commercial is so intricate and detailed, and not one thing can be off.

The video set reminded me of a factory assembly line. Every crew member on the set worked together, from the director all the way down to the person handing out snacks. Every person played a vital part in making sure things flowed smoothly. You have to get everything exact, down to the type of knee pads the talent wears (because we were working with our awesome Rampers!),

The most important thing you must remember when on a production shoot is to have, PATIENCE!!! Find a way to get involved, and ask as many questions as possible. Being an Intern, it’s vital for me to understand everything that’s going on around me.

Being in the seat of the client was such a privilege, and I felt so important. Even though I didn’t have much to say about what was accepted or rejected, it was an honor just to be on the set.

Denver has so much to offer, you would really have to experience this for yourself. I’m literally NUTS about Denver, but don’t take my word for it: Experience it for yourself.  Then come back to this blog and tell me all about it. Happy Trails…

3 Comments