• by Tanya Gazdik , July 7, 2014

Southwest Airlines is celebrating its ability to fly unfettered out of its hometown airport with a multifaceted campaign featuring an iconic song.

The Wright Amendment, which imposed restrictions on flying out of Dallas’ Love Field airport for 35 years, expires Oct. 13. As a result, Southwest will offer nonstop flights for the first time nationwide to and from the airport.

The campaign, from GSD&M, features the song “All You Need is Love” performed by indie pop band Echosmith. It includes four TV spots, hundreds of billboards, print and digital.

“Water Cannon” launches July 8 and features a colorful water cannon salute from out on the tarmac. “Seventh Inning Stretch” was filmed during a Texas Rangers preseason game. “Love Moment” features joyful airport reunions and “Fireworks” shows airline passengers watching pyrotechnics from a plane, including some over the nation’s capital, which is one of the 15 new cities the airline will be able to fly to.

The creative work positions the “LUV airline” and the Love Field airport as the best choice for customers flying from Dallas anywhere in the country.

"This campaign is a celebration of endurance, of Southwest's warrior spirit," Dave Ridley, SVP business development for Southwest Airlines, tells Marketing Daily. "We've been fighting the Wright Amendment for 34 years. Its expiration is a big win and milestone for us. We're thrilled to be able to offer our customers nonstop service from Dallas to 15 new cities."

Billboard signage near Dallas Love Field will continue to count down until the repeal of the Wright Amendment “Sets Love Free” in mid-October. The campaign will run through fall 2014. 

The airline will add five new nonstop destinations on Oct. 13, followed by 10 additional new nonstop destinations on Nov. 2. The addition of these 15 new nonstop destinations will bring Southwest to a total of 31 nonstop destinations from Love Field.

In anticipation of the additions, each week the company is featuring one of the new cities on its blog. Each post is written by a Southwest Employee who is affiliated with the city and can give an insider’s view of what to see and do while visiting. Baltimore was featured on June 30 and Denver on July 7.