Spirit Airlines invokes Manti T’eo girlfriend controversy

Spirit Airlines is seeking to capitalize on Internet buzz surrounding reports that the deceased girlfriend of University of Notre Dame college football player Manti T’eo did not really exist.

T’eo claimed during the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football season that his girlfriend who lived in Hawaii had died of leukemia. T’eo said this week, however, that the woman did not exist and claimed to be the victim of a hoax.

In its latest attempt to draw attention from viral Internet topics, Spirit said of its fares Thursday “No hoax here...we are catfish approved” in an email to potential customers.

“There's no hoax here,” the airline wrote. “Spirit's fares really are low!” 

The advertisement follows a string of references to political events in recent months from Spirit Airlines. The company offered a "binder full of sales" following Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's comments about reviewing "binders full of women" for political appointments during a debate last fall with President Obama.

Spirit has also famously offered a 9-9-9 sale named after former Republican presidential candidate's Herman Cain's ubiquitous tax plan from the GOP primary that was ultimately won by Romney.

The reference to T’eo is the second college football incident Spirit has drawn on for advertising in as many weeks. The airline referenced ESPN commentator Brent Musburger's comments about the girlfriend of a college football player during the sport's national championship game. 

The championship game was won by Alabama over T’eo's Notre Dame team.

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