A total of 186 people contacted the Advertising Standards Authority to label the newspaper advert "offensive and demeaning to women" and for "trivialising the war in Iraq".
That's a total of 186 people with no sense of humour. Why does everything have to be so politically correct- some people...
Josh
Edit: You obviously can't have lowecase first letters for the subject... should be easyJet
Delta777-XXX From United States of America, joined Jun 2000, 1017 posts, RR: 8 Reply 5, posted (9 years 9 months 4 weeks 15 hours ago) and read 1230 times:
AvObserver From United States of America, joined Apr 2002, 2430 posts, RR: 10 Reply 6, posted (9 years 9 months 4 weeks 15 hours ago) and read 1201 times:
It was posted here sometime ago but I didn't find it. Though not offended myself, such an ad would never fly here in the U.S., these days, with feminism a bit more militant than in Europe, despite all of the 'jiggle' in our entertainment. It doesn't help that the model herself is unhappy with Easyjet. Yes, the ad catches attention (oh boy, and HOW! ) but in the long run, Easyjet will probably be rueing the day it or its' ad agency dreamed up the campaign. Ads should be very careful not to offend any demographic, no matter how small.
Tombezza From United Kingdom, joined Nov 2000, 85 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (9 years 9 months 4 weeks 15 hours ago) and read 1160 times:
'Ads should be very careful not to offend any demographic, no matter how small'
Terrible thing, being a bit light hearted at times... I certainly hope easyJet, Ryanair et al (hmmm... are there any others?) don't stop running their low budget, big impact ad campaigns.
The point here is that the average Brit doesn't give two hoots about demographic yadayadayadayada; we know what's funny, and quite often that involves annoying some people. In a way, that's what's funny... Sure, feminism means as much here as anywhere, but if you can do it with a tongue in your cheek, the chances are that you'll get away with it...
AvObserver From United States of America, joined Apr 2002, 2430 posts, RR: 10 Reply 8, posted (9 years 9 months 4 weeks 14 hours ago) and read 1124 times:
Actually Tombezza, I agree with YOUR philosophy, not the one I was spouting. I was just telling it how it is in the States, here, us being so steeped in political correctness thanks to BOTH the Clinton and Bush administrations. It's obvious Easyjet wasn't out to offend anyone but in the U.S., it's to easy to get on someone's hit list by running provocative ads like that. I'm GLAD you in the U.K. are much more laid back about such things. By the way, I've been a big fan of both the late, great Benny Hill and the legendary Monty Python troupe so I, myself, am HARDLY bothered by raunchy humor. Too bad here, at least, were saddled by too many prudes. My personal appraisal of the ad is a resounding thumbs (or another nether part of the male anatomy) UP!
Cloudy From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 9, posted (9 years 9 months 4 weeks 14 hours ago) and read 1126 times:
It can actually pay off to offend people if you are not well known to the general public yet. The resulting controversy is free publicity for you. Many people who might not have never heard of you would suddenly know who you are. People are always more comfortable booking with someone they know - even if it is only a vague recollection from a newspaper article or TV special.
But if you are already well known - you loose more people by offending them or causing them to question you than you gain by the greater publicity. When you get beyond a certain size and enough of the public already knows you, it pays to offend as few people as possible. One sees this in politics as well. The one leading in the polls usually takes fewer risks than the one trailing. Goofy tricks and deliberate bombastic remarks are nearly always done when a candidate thinks he is not getting noticed enough.
Note that Southwest had some adds early on that would be considered offensive nowdays because of their blatent sex appeal. Not only have times changed, but so has Southwest. It is no longer as neccesary to get noticed, and they have a broader and larger customer base that they must be carefull not to offend.
Sponsor Message: 
From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2008, 1 posts, 
From , joined Dec 1969, posts, 
, 12713 posts, 
) but in the long run, Easyjet will probably be rueing the day it or its' ad agency dreamed up the campaign. Ads should be very careful not to offend any demographic, no matter how small. 
Printer friendly format 
