In 1986, British Airways ran a promotion to give away 5,200 seats for travel on June 10th.

Virgin Atlantic Airways ran ads that said, “It has always been Virgin's policy to encourage you to fly to London for as little as possible. So on June 10, we encourage you to fly British Airways.”

The British Airways promotion generated a lot of news coverage, but most of the news coverage also included a mention of Virgin's funny ad. It cost British Airways a lot more than Virgin to get this coverage.

In smaller type under that message, Virgin added, “As for the rest of the year, we look forward to seeing you aboard Virgin Atlantic. For the best service possible. At the lowest possible fare.”