The Big Seat

Alaska highlights new 787 Dreamliner Suites with hometown spirit in new Cal Raleigh commercial

Over the past two years, Alaska Airlines has accelerated its position as Seattle’s global carrier. With 5 new international destinations already added, up to a dozen global destinations to come by 2030 and continued investments in an elevated curb-to-cabin experience, it is a transformational time for the airline.

Alaska’s evolution is underpinned by its long history serving its hometown of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. In its newest advertisement in Seattle, Alaska leans into that history and highlights its new Suite on the 787 Dreamliner with a fun nod to its hometown pride.

Telling a story of growth

When looking to showcase Alaska's global travel experience and our Seattle roots, Cal Raleigh and the Seattle Mariners immediately came to mind as partners.

Just as it has been a revolutionary two years for Alaska, it has also been a transformational period for Cal and the Mariners. Since the start of the 2024 season, Cal has broken record after record as a catcher. He hit the most home runs by a catcher and by a Mariner, became the first catcher to win the MLB Home Run Derby, and led the Mariners to claim their first AL West title in 24 years, among other accolades.

“I’ve loved partnering with Alaska Airlines, and this was a fun campaign. Getting to sit in the new lie-flat suites for the commercial was a pretty great preview — I’m definitely looking forward to trying the real ones on my next trip overseas.” – Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners

“We have been working with the Seattle Mariners for over 25 years. When we sat down to highlight where we’ve come from and how we've evolved our guest experience, there were no better partners than Cal and our hometown baseball team to help us bring this to life.” – Mike Thompson, Partnership Marketing at Alaska Airlines.

The Pitch

As work started with Cal's team to create the ad, the idea was to ground Alaska’s global product in its Seattle roots. That came to life by bringing seats from the new 787 Dreamliner into T‑Mobile Park — a cornerstone of Seattle’s identity and the home of a team that’s going places.

“Having worked with Alaska for many years, what excited me about the concept was the chance to connect Alaska’s growth into a global airline with the hometown spirit that still defines the brand,” said Daniel Mogg, owner of Mogg Media, who was the director for the ad. “A Seattle icon that’s become a global star, Cal was the perfect fit to embody Alaska Airlines’ growth. Being able to bring a real lie-flat suite into T-Mobile Park, along with authentic Mariners elements like the head groundskeeper and the Mariner Moose, gave us a fun visual way to tell that story in a way that felt both premium and distinctly Seattle.”

A section of the preliminary storyboard for the commercial

From tarmac to T-Mobile Park

The challenge of bringing two 787 Dreamliner suites into a baseball stadium included:

● The only seats available were being stored at our Honolulu hub

● Each seat weighed around 3000 pounds

● They weren’t allowed to touch the grass

Solving the first two challenges was a feat of logistics. Employees across the company pitched in, teaming up with members of cabin products, line maintenance, maintenance and engineering, cargo and supply chain. Hawaiian Airlines’ maintenance team in Honolulu led the charge, disassembling the seats and escorting them to Seattle on a cargo flight.

The final hurdle was to get the seats onto the field without damaging the grass. This required some outside assistance, so Kevin Dvorak, director of grounds for the Mariners, stepped in to make it happen.

Dvorak has held his role with the Mariners since 2023. Before becoming director, he played first baseman at Oklahoma City University, worked in the golf industry and supported ballparks across the country, including a 3-year stint as a member of the Mariners’ seasonal day crew.

When we went to Kevin with our challenge, he was immediately on board to help. He explained exactly what would need to happen to get the seats onto the field. More than that – his enthusiasm for the project was infectious, and we decided to capture that by including him in the ad.

"It's not every day you're hoisting parts of an airplane onto a Major League field," said Dvorak. "But we always expect the unexpected at T-Mobile Park, and we had a lot of fun with this one. Our whole crew had a great time working with Cal and Alaska Airlines to bring it to life, and it was certainly a memorable way to make my official acting debut."

After a reassembly from our engineers, careful directions from Kevin and one oversized forklift, the seats were ready for show time.