What is United — Golf is Ours about?

United — Golf is Ours is a 2022 integrated campaign created by 72andSunny for United Airlines in the United States travel and sports market. The campaign highlights United’s partnership with the PGA Tour and its commitment to breaking down barriers for golf programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities by providing over $500,000 in travel grants. Told through the authentic voices of young Black HBCU golfers, the campaign celebrates inclusion and pride in golf while addressing the financial challenges of air travel that limit access to tournaments. It positions United as a facilitator of opportunity and equity in sports.

What creative device does United — Golf is Ours use?

United — Golf is Ours employs the FORMAT#10 ASSOCIATED USER IMAGERY creative device as classified by Clapboard’s 12-format taxonomy. This technique centers on relatable and aspirational user profiles, here represented by young Black HBCU golfers who assert their identity and rightful place in golf. Rather than a single narrative arc, the campaign uses a series of vignettes featuring real student-athletes, building identification and inclusion through authentic voices. This approach connects the brand with an aspirational community by highlighting lived experiences instead of traditional testimonials or demonstrations.

What is the campaign proposition for United — Golf is Ours?

The campaign proposition for United — Golf is Ours positions the brand as a catalyst for inclusion and opportunity within golf, targeting young Black athletes and socially conscious audiences invested in diversity. By partnering with the PGA Tour to provide travel grants to HBCU golf programs, United addresses a tangible barrier—funding for air travel—that has historically excluded Black golfers. This strategic positioning aligns with United’s broader purpose of connecting people and uniting the world, reinforcing the airline’s role as an enabler of progress and equity in both the travel and sports sectors.

How does United — Golf is Ours rank in Clapboard's archive?

United — Golf is Ours holds a Clapboard Campaign Score of 67/100. This score reflects the campaign’s creative ambition, execution quality, and cultural relevance as assessed by Clapboard’s global ad archive. The rating indicates the campaign’s effective integration of storytelling and social impact within the travel and sports marketing categories.

Who are the competitors in United Airlines' category?

United Airlines competes with several major carriers each with distinct market positioning. Delta Air Lines emphasizes premium global service, reliability, and extensive route networks, appealing to business and leisure travelers seeking consistency. American Airlines focuses on broad connectivity and loyalty rewards, targeting both corporate clients and value-conscious customers. Southwest Airlines differentiates itself through a low-cost, no-frills model with customer-friendly policies, appealing to budget travelers. Alaska Airlines prioritizes customer-centric service with a strong West Coast presence and competitive pricing. JetBlue combines affordable fares with a premium onboard experience, targeting travelers who want value without sacrificing comfort.

This United Airlines campaign uses authentic voices of Black HBCU golfers to break barriers in sport— Clapboard's Global Ad Archive.

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Golf is Ours - United Airlines | Clapboard Ad Archive

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Description

United Airlines’ 2022 Golf is Ours campaign, created with 72andSunny, leverages the brand’s partnership with the PGA Tour to tackle a fundamental obstacle faced by Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ golf programs: the prohibitive cost of air travel. This integrated campaign, rooted in the travel and sports categories, shifts beyond conventional sponsorship by providing over $500,000 in travel grants distributed equally among 51 HBCU golf teams, enabling approximately 250 student-athletes and coaches to attend tournaments that were previously out of reach. The campaign unfolds through a series of vignettes featuring young Black golfers who assert their identity and belonging within a sport historically marked by exclusion, using their own voices to declare golf as a shared domain—Golf is Black, Golf is mine, Golf is ours, Golf is for all of us. This narrative strategy, which Clapboard classifies as FORMAT#10 Associated User Imagery, centers on authentic representation and aspirational identification rather than dramatized storytelling, positioning these athletes as relatable figures who embody pride, power, and resilience. The campaign’s visual and verbal storytelling underscores United’s brand purpose of Connecting People. Uniting the World., reinforcing its role not only as a travel facilitator but as an active agent of inclusion and social progress within sports culture. By addressing a tangible financial barrier with practical support, United Airlines strengthens its relevance across travel and sports marketing sectors, aligning with a socially conscious, younger audience invested in diversity and equity. The creative approach humanizes the challenge of access in golf, reframing the sport as belonging to a broader community and encouraging Black golfers to claim their rightful space in its evolving narrative. The campaign’s integration of film and media assets effectively combines emotive storytelling with a real-world impact, moving beyond symbolic gestures to concrete change. United Airlines, through Golf is Ours, positions itself as a champion of opportunity and inclusion, demonstrating how a legacy brand in the travel industry can authentically engage with cultural and social issues in sports. Clapboard rates this campaign 67/100. This campaign matters to the industry because it demonstrates how travel brands can leverage strategic partnerships and authentic storytelling to drive social impact and reshape category narratives around diversity and inclusion.