New TV Series, Pan Am, Expands Marketing Leverage For New Hampshire's Pan Am Brands

DOVER, N.H., July 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- When the new series, Pan Am, takes off on ABC this fall, the legendary airline and its iconic logo will play a leading role, thanks to a far-reaching license agreement between Pan Am Brands (www.panambrands.com) and the show's producers.  As owner of the intellectual property rights to the original Pan American World Airways, Pan Am Brands offers an exclusive line of Pan Am-inspired luggage and travel accessories.  The company expects the show, a drama set in 1963, to spur sales and raise awareness of Pan Am's storied history as the airline that led the world into the Jet Age.

Through its license agreement, Pan Am Brands has worked closely with the show's producers to ensure historical accuracy and image. Former Pan Am employees have offered a wealth of information on the airline's achievements and history, from major technical advances to details of in-flight services, right down to the china and glassware that made Pan Am's First Class President's Special service a legend in the air.

"Our agreement to license the Pan Am name to develop this series, is another important step in developing new marketing and promotional opportunities," says Stacy Beck, Pan Am Brands Director of Marketing and Corporate Development.  "The program will bring back the excitement and style of the Jet Age and reinforce the glamour of the Pan Am brand."

The new TV series, debuting in September, is set in the early Sixties when travel aboard Pan Am's Jet Clippers epitomized the Golden Age of Air Travel. Pan Am follows the adventures of several stewardesses and pilots aboard the airline's new jet aircraft. The show is created and produced by Nancy Hult Ganis, a former Pan Am flight attendant and producer of such hit films as Akeelah and the Bee.  Thomas Schlamme, formerly of the West Wing, is the director and Jack Orman, chief writer for ER, heads the writing team. Golden Globe nominee Christina Ricci stars.

Pan Am Brands will leverage the show's emphasis on the allure and intrigue of the early Sixties, a time when America's economy and influence were expanding globally.  "Pan Am played a major role in making travel more accessible and in bringing American culture and politics to the world," Beck notes. The growing trend towards retro-style, spurred by the success of another 60s-based TV series, Mad Men, has already spurred interest in Pan Am Brand's growing line of Pan Am-inspired travel products and apparel.

The Pan Am bag is still highly regarded and greatly sought-after by today's collectors, Beck asserts.  Pan Am Brands' first collection, "The Originals," is based on this icon, once seen in airports from Rio to Rangoon.  Since its launch in 2007, Pan Am Brands has developed a line of over 50 travel bags and accessories, from luggage and carryon bags to watches, passport holders, baggage tags, model planes and tee-shirts.

Customers can choose from the classic flight bag to reinterpretations of the Pan Am logo with bags that are fun and whimsical, elegant and understated, colorful or conservative.  Bags are designed to meet most current carry-on standards and to make checking in and passing TSA Security Checks as efficient and secure as possible.

Pan Am Brands is committed to further developing the Pan Am brand through merchandising and licensing agreements, but promoting awareness of the airline's extraordinary history is an essential part of the company's mission, which states: It is our objective to utilize Pan Am's colorful history to bring back the original Jet-Setter values and restore civility, adventure and fun to the travel experience. Our collection, of bags and merchandise pays homage to these classic icons of culture. These symbols of Pan Am are fun and whimsical while retaining the historic and vibrant spirit that is Pan Am.

About Pan Am Brands

Pan Am Brands is the trade name for Pan American World Airways, Inc., the owner of intellectual property rights of the original Pan Am.  Pan Am Brands is based in Dover, New Hampshire and is focused on developing further brand recognition for the iconic Pan Am trademark through its merchandising and licensing programs and promoting awareness of the airline's extraordinary history.   Please visit the Pan Am Brands web site at www.panambrands.com or contact us by e-mail at [email protected]. Pan Am Brands is also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PanAmBrands.

SOURCE Pan Am Brands