I will say one thing for this recent Ad for Virgin Atlantic Airlines, it does seem to be “on-brand” with the image of its owner, Richard Branson. The ad uses images (a brick sized mobile phone, dated hair-do’s) and music (Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax”) to capture the essence of 1984 in celebration of the company’s 25th anniversary. But the focus of the ad is the gorgeous gaggle of stewardesses (the 1984 word and evocation of the ad) who, with their red super high-heeled pumps and short skirts, walking in slow motion to gyrating music, seem ready to fulfill the dreams of male travelers, seemingly confirmed by the smug mug of the male pilot as he stops to pose with his ‘harem.’ My husband has already voiced is approval of the ad, and that’s good, because he is an international business traveler. But Women now constitute almost 50 percent of all the business travel in the United States, and spend $175 billion on 14 million trips annually. And with 50% of the world’s population female and less than 20% both male and white…I wish Virgin Atlantic success in marketing only to white males. We have come a long way, baby, and I think we want to keep it that way!
