• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 15, 2011

While turning over aviation design to the wisdom of crowds is probably a bad idea, it works much better for decorating the exterior of planes. That's the thinking behind a new publicity stunt from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which has covered the exterior of one of its new Boeing 777-200 super-jumbo jets with images and inspirational quotes provided by KLM customers.

The "Tile & Inspire" campaign, developed by Tribal DDB Amsterdam, invited consumers to create an image of a traditional blue Delftware-style tile with their portrait and a personal message.

An online interface developed by Tribal allowed users to juxtapose their images and quotes on distinctive blue tiles (virtually -- no clay involved). Participants could also upload the photos through Facebook and Hyves, a Dutch socia-media site. The message could be in any language, and entries were judged in Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.

KLM and Tribal then selected 3,965 images with messages to plaster on the outside of one of the new KLM flagships. Participants whose images were chosen for the project will receive a personalized video showing their tile on the plane's exterior.

KLM is also posting a documentary about the making of "Tile & Inspire" at www.tileyourself.com, YouTube and various blogs.

The Delftware motif is in keeping with the brand's desire to embrace its Dutch origins, according to executives, while also emphasizing its cosmopolitan character with multilingual messages. Dutch potters have been producing the iconic blue-and-white-glazed pottery since the early 16th century.