We were invited to have discussions with a major airline this week, and one of the issues we decided to comment on was the use of the airline's flight crew in marketing and PR campaigns, and whether we thought such a campaign was likely to be perceived as sexist or not. It's an interesting topic.
As with so many areas of 21st century life, the PC Brigade has marched in, so nowadays the politically correct term is usually something like 'Flight Attendant' or 'Cabin Crew', but back in the day they used to be called stewardesses, or hostesses.
It was different back in the 70s. National Airlines took off with its "I'm Cheryl. Fly me" campaign in 1971, and the sexy - and blatant - slogan enraged feminists. It also pulled in business: National reported a 23% increase in passengers during the first year of the campaign. Encouraged, National developed an even more suggestive campaign featuring National stewardesses looking seductively into the camera and breathing "I'm going to fly you like you've never been flown before." The film makers coached them to "say it like you're standing there stark naked."
Some stewardesses (I think I can call them that, because that's what they were back then) cashed in on their fame - two collaborated on a kiss-and-tell book entitled 'Coffee, Tea or Me? The Uninhibited Memoirs of Two Airline Stewardesses'. There appears to be a growth of nostalgia for these 'glamour years' of flying, especially in the present climate of cutbacks and fear, and to prove it, this book was recently reissued due to demand. The subject has also been well documented in books such as 'Come Fly With Us!: A Global History of the Airline Hostess', and also parodied by cabaret acts such as Pam Ann, and, of course, our own Eurovision entry, Scooch.
We argued that, if an airline was to use its female crew within its marketing & PR, it was an opportunity to show that the concept has come of age. The real issue here lies not in the (perceived) sexist nature of the marketing, but the fact that the focus is on a female being in a position of service. Most cabin crew don't just serve drinks, they interact cross-culturally, and are equipped with the training to handle any conceivable emergency situation that may arise.
Much as no one has an issue with Twiggy being the face of Marks & Spencer or Kate Moss being the face of Top Shop - nor should an airline be afraid to put its most beautiful asset up on a pedestal for the rest of the industry to admire and aspire to.
Oh, and just in case you're wondering, the airline we were advising wasn't this one. And if you fancy a career in the sky, visit here.
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