The Southwest Airlines Slogan Dispute

You can't swing a cat in the media these days without coming across a story about a corporate disagreement that's headed to court. It's been like this for decades. When it comes to problem solving, litigation is the name of the game, but this is not always the case. Southwest Airlines was founded in 1971 and has always been a quirky company. They used strange phrases and were less serious than their opponents. The plan worked. Southwest is now worth more than $25 billion.

The company's lighthearted slogans change every few years, like every firm must do to stay relevant. They sought to utilize the tagline "Just Plane Smart" in the 1990s. They used it for a little over a year before discovering that another company, Stevens Aviation, was also using it. Stevens' lawyers wanted to sue, but there was one snag. Kurt Herwald, the CEO of Stevens, looked up to Southwest CEO Herb Kelleher. He didn't want to sue a man he admired for an honest error. So he challenged Kelleher to a game of arm wrestling.

Herwald was approximately 30 years younger and had prepared physically for the event. Kelleher smoked and drank whisky. He arrived at the event in a cheerleader-surrounded restroom. The first two rounds of a three-round fight were manufactured as a prank. Kelleher claimed he hurt his arm helping a child that morning, so he was replaced by a professional. Herwald also had a ringer in the following round. They played for real in the final round, and Herwald won.

Date: March 1992