**Update: 23/11/19 @ 02:57 UTC –JetBlue responded to our inquiry and clarified that the security question was cut-off. Details below.**

Many online account login processes nowadays have additional security questions to verify identity. Well, JetBlue included a unique and potentially controversial question: What is the name of your favourite child? Unsurprisingly, the internet responded with some attitude and humor ever since JetBlue responded on Twitter on November 19th.

"Say it. You know you have one." - that's the response JetBlue gave when a Twitter user posted a screenshot of a suggested security question. Since that response, the airline's Tweet has had hundreds of responses and retweets.

Genius marketing?

The 'twitterverse' seemed to take the whole situation with good humor. It's one of those things that have one publicly-acceptable-answer. That answer is "no! of course not - I could never choose between my children!". However, those who are parents of multiple children know that sometimes a stronger bond forms with one particular child more than the others. Hence the reason why so many people love JetBlue's cheekiness in responding to Twitter users on the issue. Here are some of the most positive responses:

Just another reason @JetBlue is the only way I fly! pic.twitter.com/aTd7Ll4VUU

— Divided We Fall (@nettles_86) November 19, 2019

Is this genius marketing or just unfair to the other children? Well... we're writing about it and talking about JetBlue (along with hundreds of Twitter users). That probably means it's genius marketing. Well played JetBlue. Well played.

JetBlue responded to our inquiry and the truth of this entire matter has to do with the simple matter of browser formatting. Here's what they had to say:

"We love having fun with our customers on Twitter. The actual question is “What is the name of your favorite childhood friend?” In this tweet, the customer would have seen the complete question before selecting it. Based on the customer’s specific browser formatting, the question was cut off once selected."

So it turns out this whole situation was more of a misunderstanding and the airline chose to have fun with it. For me, JetBlue gets bonus points for having a great sense of humor about it all!

Jetblue A321neo
The first A321neo is named David Neeleman after the airline's founder. Photo: JetBlue

Other great marketing

Now we know that this whole thing was due to a technical limitation of someones browser. However, the fact that the airline's social media operators have kept on top of retweets adds to the conversation and fun of such a random topic.

While a little more intentional, we have certainly enjoyed WestJet's marketing efforts in recent months. This past October they released a whole campaign (with video) showing that they did not treat their passengers like cattle (implying that other airlines did). Equally as creative was their April Fools Day video touting a fictional Flyre Festival - poking fun at the failed Fyre Festival which developed into a Netflix documentary as well as a documentary on Hulu.

A321neo
JetBlue's A321neo deliveries have been slow from Airbus. Photo: JetBlue

Conclusion

In the end, the winner is JetBlue for having a great sense of humor and getting totally involved in the conversation taking place on social media. For travelers - do you think JetBlue handled this well?

A more important question for parents though: Is JetBlue right? Is it possible to have a favorite child? Let us know in the comments!

We asked JetBlue for a comment on this situation. However, they have not yet responded to our request.