Low-fare ads wet appetites

Air New Zealand's marketing department has plumbed new depths in its campaign to promote the airline's new Pacific Express fares.

In what it believes is a first for a New Zealand company, Air New Zealand has sunk a weighted pool mat on to a lane of the Auckland Tepid Baths.

The mat features pictures of coral reef fish and asks swimmers: "Wouldn't you rather be swimming over this?"

The concept was the work of Aim Proximity, which handles Air NZ's below-the-line work.

Air NZ's advertising agency Colenso BBDO launched Pacific Express through MediaOne - an online advertising medium being trialled by its Canadian owners in the NZ market.

Under MediaOne's system, a version of the Pacific Express TV commercial appears on certain websites covering areas such as news, weather, surfing, wedding and youth.

The launch of Pacific Express has also prompted Air NZ to sponsor Auckland's Pasifika Festival for the first time.

The airline has become the naming sponsor of the "Contemporary Stage" - hosting the likes of hip-hop star Scribe, Brooke Fraser, Australian Idol star Paulini Curuenavuli and Vince Harder, star of the Lion King - at this weekend's festival.