Mr. Horton, We’re Leaning in to Help American Airlines

Mr. Horton,
 
When we read the news of American Airlines filing for Chapter 11, we were inspired by the “take the bull by the horns” attitude. Because we didn’t see it as a move of weakness. But rather, a move of courage. The world has changed not only for the airline industry, but also for every other industry and company out there. A combination of economic and technology realities mixed with consumer demand has made it necessary for all CEOs to re-examine everything. And do whatever it takes. 
 
We’re seeing the same thing in the business of advertising. The old “FTE-based” (full time employee) business model is a dinosaur. It’s a compensation model that actually encourages agencies to move slower and put more staff on a piece of business to make more money. And, pardon the pun, it just won’t fly anymore. Which is why, in 2009, we started Victors & Spoils under a whole different model. One based on allowing a vast crowd of creatives to ideate against a business problem, shaped by a few select industry veterans. A model that merges technology and the irresistible force of creative collaboration to deliver businesses more thinking for more realistic cost.
 
So, in an effort of helping you achieve your goal of industry competitiveness, with a more attractive agency payment structure, we’ve decided to act as if we’re working together already. We’ve written and launched a creative brief aimed at helping you reinvent your airline as you restructure. And we’ve put this brief to our crowd of 6,000+ creatives - offering $10,000 of our own toward the ideas we think can best help American Airlines become a more nimble airline, one that can change the way we think about air travel and solve some of the biggest issues for customers. 
 
But we’d love to let you pick the ideas you like best, yourselves. So please, give us a shout or send us a tweet and let’s schedule some time to show you this fantastic work. And who knows? If you like what you see, maybe you’ll also restructure with a more nimble agency relationship – to match your more nimble airline. 
 
Thank you for your courage and vision. 
 
Best,
 
John