WA707atMSP From United States of America, joined Oct 2006, 1748 posts, RR: 12 Posted (3 years 6 months 1 week 4 days 13 hours ago) and read 5434 times:
For those of you who are stuck at your desks, but wish you were at the beach, here is the best airline ad of all time:
This ad appeared in airline industry trade magazines in the late 1960s, shortly before Finnair began flying to the USA. I'm sure Finnair was trying to increase their visibility within the industry by running attention getting advertising - and the ad still gets my attention 40 years later
Can you imagine the outrage if an airline tried to run an ad like this today?
Luv2fly From United States of America, joined May 2003, 11482 posts, RR: 54 Reply 1, posted (3 years 6 months 1 week 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 5233 times:
LTU also use to do some provocative ads using woman as well.
Viscount724 From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 17757 posts, RR: 17 Reply 3, posted (3 years 6 months 1 week 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 5200 times:
Quoting WA707atMSP (Thread starter): Can you imagine the outrage if an airline tried to run an ad like this today?
Many ads from that era wouldn't be politically-correct today, including the UA "Take Me Along" campaign introduced in 1967, promoting discounts for "your wife" to make it easier to take her along on business trips. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DDIE0lr7Rs
UA's "Men Only" Executive flights (except the flight attendants of course) between Chicago and New York offered for many years until the late 1960s if not a bit later would also be problematic today!
N867DA From United States of America, joined May 2008, 916 posts, RR: 1 Reply 4, posted (3 years 6 months 1 week 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 5187 times:
Something that caught my eye is :"...so book 'em...". We hear so much about the bastardization of the English language but I never realized that the culprits have always been around. I don't know how old this is but most of the airline ads I have seen from the 1950s and 60s have used what can only be called 'proper' language.
Quoting LY744 (Reply 2): Can you imagine if they made the ad AFTER they started flying to the States?
They'd need a very wide woman to make the map legible! The ad would be terrible once you add in some Asia routes!
Eghansen From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 6, posted (3 years 6 months 1 week 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 5131 times:
About three years ago, when flying out of MXP, I saw a huge (50 feet across) billboard with a full-length naked man and a map of the world superimposed over his body. It was an advertisement for Alitalia. Maybe it is OK to use a man. Or maybe it was just Italy.
I did notice when I was in Berlin in January that there were topless photographs of women all over the Untergrund Bahn advertising cosmetic surgery clinics. That would never be allowed anywhere in the US.
AA737-823 From United States of America, joined Mar 2000, 4798 posts, RR: 14 Reply 7, posted (3 years 6 months 1 week 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 5112 times:
Quoting Eghansen (Reply 6): Maybe it is OK to use a man. Or maybe it was just Italy.
It would be the latter. HAVE you SEEN their ads for Intimissimi? Doesn't matter the gender, the person is rarely wearing the underwear they're advertising! Got a kick outta that as a 19 year old.
Quoting WA707atMSP (Thread starter): Can you imagine the outrage if an airline tried to run an ad like this today?
Yeah, everyone would cry "prudish" and expect her to be totally nude.
Seriously, have you seen the stuff we read? And it's not just women anymore, either. Ads for Givenchi, Armani, CK, etc.... all naked people (and sometimes very awkwardly positioned naked people, I mean really... WHO could bend themselves that way!?!?) all feature naked men and women.
And many times, the European nudes are at least somewhat tasteful, while in the US it's just shameless nudity.
Eghansen From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (3 years 6 months 1 week 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 5024 times:
Quoting AA737-823 (Reply 7): It would be the latter. HAVE you SEEN their ads for Intimissimi? Doesn't matter the gender, the person is rarely wearing the underwear they're advertising! Got a kick outta that as a 19 year old.
I haven't seen their ads, but there is doubt that Europeans are much more lenient regarding sex than in the US.
The level of explicit sexual content and drug use on BBC programs such Absolutely Fabulous and Coupling far exceeds anything that would be permitted on US network television. And this is on a network funded by taxpayers. Go Britain!!
WA707atMSP From United States of America, joined Oct 2006, 1748 posts, RR: 12 Reply 10, posted (3 years 6 months 1 week 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 4686 times:
Quoting N867DA (Reply 4): Something that caught my eye is :"...so book 'em...". We hear so much about the bastardization of the English language but I never realized that the culprits have always been around. I don't know how old this is but most of the airline ads I have seen from the 1950s and 60s have used what can only be called 'proper' language.
This ad is from a 1968 issue of OAG Air Travel magazine.
I have a large collection of old airline ads, and I've noticed that airline advertising tended to be very conservative and proper until about 1967, then after that, the language became much more informal - as the airlines aspired to be "with it". In a few days, I'll be posting a 1968 Qantas ad for used 707-138s, which invited prospective buyers to "stop by and kick the tires".
The phrase "book 'em" was very common in the 1960s. The last line of many episodes of the TV series "Hawaii Five O" (which started in September, 1968, AFTER this ad appeared) was detective Steve McGarrett turning to his partner and saying "Book 'em Danno - Murder One".
Uzimmermann From United States of America, joined Dec 2006, 61 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (3 years 6 months 1 week 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 4525 times:
Quoting Eghansen (Reply 6): I did notice when I was in Berlin in January that there were topless photographs of women all over the Untergrund Bahn advertising cosmetic surgery clinics. That would never be allowed anywhere in the US.
Hell, they use naked people to advertise butter products in Germany on TV. My wife, American, would always comment on that one.
Andaman From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 12, posted (3 years 6 months 1 week 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 4397 times:
I haven't seen this AY ad ever before, the ads for the domestic markets that time were much more dull
Quoting Uzimmermann (Reply 11): Hell, they use naked people to advertise butter products in Germany on TV. My wife, American, would always comment on that one.
These cultural differences are interesting. Some of my American friends have been a bit confused with the Finnish sauna culture, in the sauna context nudity is not seen really erotic in Finland, sauna is more like a cosy family thing. But the German top less grannies on the Spanish beaches surprise Finnish tourists too!
Planespotting From United States of America, joined Apr 2004, 3290 posts, RR: 7 Reply 13, posted (3 years 6 months 1 week 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 4361 times:
Did anyone notice the destination right in the middle of the ad?
MOSCOW
Just where everyone wants to go for a summertime vacation in the 1960s!
Eghansen From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 14, posted (3 years 6 months 1 week 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 4240 times:
Quoting Uzimmermann (Reply 11): Hell, they use naked people to advertise butter products in Germany on TV. My wife, American, would always comment on that one.
Plus they run soft porn and advertisements for phone sex during the early morning hours on all the television stations. Gave me something to watch when trying to recover from jetlag.
Vhqpa From Australia, joined Jul 2005, 1272 posts, RR: 1 Reply 15, posted (3 years 6 months 1 week 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 4081 times:
Quoting Eghansen (Reply 14):
Plus they run soft porn and advertisements for phone sex during the early morning hours on all the television stations. Gave me something to watch when trying to recover from jetlag.
That happens here too often on certain free to air channels between 0000-0400 . theres always some inappropriately clad blonde bimbo on "Call me handsome and intimate my me and my friends right now."