Black-owned agency won LAX FlyAway bus campaign in 1975

Polymedia, a Black-owned Atlanta advertising agency, won a one-year contract in 1975 to launch the Los Angeles Department of Airports’ Van Nuys-to-LAX bus service. The campaign helped create the FlyAway brand that still serves travelers today and stands as an early example of minority-firm access to public contracts.

Why it matters: - Polymedia’s win put a Black-owned agency on a major public-sector account at a time when minority firms were rarely invited into city contracting competition. - The campaign helped establish the FlyAway name, a brand that remains part of LAX’s transit network 50 years later. - The story shows how public contracts can open doors for minority businesses and shape long-lasting consumer brands.

What happened: - In 1975, Polymedia won a one-year contract to create and launch a campaign for the Los Angeles Department of Airports bus service between Van Nuys and LAX. - The agency’s leaders were President Bob Dockery, Jr. and Vice President Lee Triggs, who founded Polymedia in the early 1970s. - Nine other agencies, all white-owned, also competed for the account. - The work included a radio jingle recorded by pop singer Carla Thomas. - The jingle aired on KGIL, KABC and KFWB and urged drivers to leave their cars behind and “Be a FlyAway Rider.”

The details: - Two weeks after the campaign launched, the Los Angeles Times reported the buses were averaging more than 300 passengers a day. - The service had a goal of 1,000 daily passengers within a month. - The FlyAway service still uses the same name today. - R. E. “Bob” Collins, an Airport Commission member appointed by Mayor Tom Bradley, organized a January 1975 seminar for minority vendors called “How to Do Business in LAX.” - Dockery and Triggs learned about the new bus service through the Black Businessmen Association. - Dockery said Collins told the BBA that at least one minority ad agency should be given the chance to bid on the contract. - The Los Angeles Times reported that Peggy G. Hereford, the Department of Airports’ director of public and community relations, said the decision rested largely on the enthusiasm of Dockery and Triggs’ presentation and on Polymedia’s performance record. - Polymedia focused heavily on the Black consumer market and also used a multicultural team for general-market creative work. - Polymedia’s clients included Host International, Continental Airlines, the California Nurses Association and Golden Oaks Furniture. - The Los Angeles Times covered the win in an article titled “A FlyAway Success Story” by J.K. Obatala.

Between the lines: - The campaign reflected a rare opening for Black-owned businesses in the 1970s, when they often only got a serious look after white-owned firms passed. - Dockery said the firm prepared as if it had already won the account because Black agencies had to work harder to get the same consideration. - Triggs framed the win as a DEI-style opportunity before that language existed in mainstream business. - The result became both a commercial campaign and a symbol of what political backing and institutional access could make possible. - Dockery said advertising has changed dramatically since 1975, with far more visible diversity across race, gender and sexual orientation.

What's next: - FlyAway remains part of the LAX transit system, extending the legacy of the 1975 campaign. - Dockery and Triggs’ reflections may keep the agency’s role in Los Angeles transportation history in view as companies revisit diversity, access and vendor opportunity.

The bottom line: - Polymedia turned one airport bus account into a brand that still endures, and it did so by breaking into a contracting system that rarely made room for Black-owned firms.