George Clooney Turned Down $35 Million For One-Day Airline Ad

George Clooney has claimed that he was offered a role in an airline commercial, and I can't help but wonder what airline it was.

Clooney turned down lucrative airline jobs.

George Clooney talked about his success in an interview with The Guardian on Friday. He was offered $35 million for a day of work on an airline commercial, but he turned it down.

Yes, yeah. I was offered $35 million for a day of work for an airline commercial, but I talked to my wife about it, and we decided it was not worth it. It was associated with a country that was questionable at times, and so I thought it was not worth it.

I think my price for losing sleep is less than $35 million.

Which airline ad did Clooney decline?

I wonder which airline he turned down the offer from, as an aviation nerd and someone who is fascinated by airline marketing. The suggestion that the airline was from a country that is an ally but questionable at times suggests to me that it must have been an airline from the Gulf.

If I had to narrow it down to five airlines, I would guess that would be Saudia, or even Turkish. There are a few thoughts on the other carriers.

The airline doesn't have $35 million to blow on a campaign like this, so it probably wasn't them.
Most airlines don't hire famous people for ad campaigns because they don't spend a lot of money on marketing.
I think it is the second most likely explanation, because Turkish has used big-name celebrities in the past, and I think it is a possibility.
Saudia is a wild card, but who knows, especially with the country trying to increase its tourism industry.

In the past, the airline has paid $5 million to have a celebrity appear in an ad that poked fun at US carriers. If I recall correctly, the ad was filmed on a real A380 on the ground at LAX, since she didn't want to fly to Dubai, which is where she talked about being afraid of flying in the past.

I was surprised that Clooney was paid $35 million, while Aniston was paid $5 million. Is Clooney just that much more famous, has the rate for celebrity appearances in ads increased that much in the past several years, or is he exaggerating?

The bottom line.

George Clooney claims he turned down a $35 million offer to be in an airline commercial because it was associated with a country that was questionable at times.

I am not the only one who is curious about what airline we are talking about. It seems like a lot more than the $5 million that was paid for the ad that was done by Jeniston for Emirates.

What carrier did Clooney turn down for an ad?