British Airways puts alligator on Gatwick runway to encourage more people to visit Florida
Three models were body-painted for five hours to resemble a scaly reptile
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Or is that a work of art on the runway?
British Airways is hoping an alligator at Gatwick airport will encourage visitors to visit Tampa, Florida and is offering a four-night stay in the city as part of a new marketing campaign.
The optical illusion of the alligator - three women who had undergone five hours of body painting - was created by Johannes Stoetter.
“When British Airways asked me to create an alligator I couldn’t wait,” she said. ”I normally paint and photograph my artwork in a studio, so to see my artwork in front of one of the airline’s planes on a runway was a truly great experience and possibly one of the most challenging yet.”
Tampa is enjoying more tourism and is even facing a lack of hotel rooms for rising demand.
In April the region collected $3.5 million for bed tax, as reported by the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
Santiago Corrado, chief executive of Visit Tampa Bay, said: “We thoroughly enjoyed this funny and creative approach to drawing visitors to Tampa Bay and Florida.”
Alligators are a real nuisance in Tampa.
Last week a woman said what she thought was a burglar trying to get in her house turned out to be a five-foot long alligator stretched across her doorway.
The alligator is not the only recent marketing stunt from the airline. In 2014 British Airways promoted new flights between Johannesburg and London by pitting South African rugby player Bryan Habana against an A380 plane for a 100 metre race along the tarmac.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments