Readers of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News opened their papers yesterday (editor’s note: Friday) to see ads for a new airline called Derrie-Air, which purportedly charges passengers by the pound. But the new carrier will never get off the ground. It’s a one-day advertising campaign about a fake airline by Philadelphia Media Holdings, the papers’ owner, and Gyro ad agency.

In light blue banners throughout the papers – as well as on their website, Philly.com – Derrie-Air cheerily trumpets its policy: The more you weigh, the more you pay. The ads direct readers to the website flyderrie-air.com. Philadelphia Media Holdings spokesman Jay Devine said the goal is to “demonstrate the power of our brands in generating awareness and generating traffic for our advertisers, and put a smile on people’s faces.”

(via this weekend’s Globe & Mail)