Ornella February ©PA
Vagabondish is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Read our disclosure.
A recent Ryanair print advertising campaign has stirred up a ton of controversy in the UK. The campaign features scantily-clad models/Ryanair flight attendants in lingerie along with the headline “Red Hot Fares & Crew”. The ads sparked a string of complaints from the public and from members of various airlines’ flight crews.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) concluded the adverts were likely to cause “widespread offense”. It said one image, entitled “Ornella February”, which showed a model pulling down the top of her underwear with a thumb, was particularly “sexually suggestive”.
Ryanair has stated that the ads – featured in national newspapers – were done to promote its 2012 cabin crew charity calendar.
The airline defended its decision, stating that, “although we acknowledged that the women in the ads had consented to appear in the calendar, we considered that the ads were likely to cause widespread offense when displayed in a national newspaper,” but Ryanair still did not consider the ads to be “offensive or unsuitable for public display”.
Read more at the Daily Mail.