LONDON – Irish low cost carrier Ryanair in trouble again for its promotional activities in Europe.
First the airline was criticised for its provocative 2008 Girls of Ryanair calendar (below) – which it promoted as a cabin crew charity calendar.
Then French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s spokesman rejected as “unacceptable” an ad campaign for Ryanair featuring a picture of the French leader and his girlfriend, 40-year-old model-turned-singer-songwriter, Carla Bruni.
In the advertisement published in the popular daily Le Parisien, Bruni and Sarkozy are seen smiling dreamily as a caption next to Bruni reads: “With Ryanair, my whole family can come to my wedding.”
Ryanair’s market director for France, Matthieu Glasson, apologised for offending the president and said he was surprised by the strong reaction.
“We are surprised because if you look at the ad, the photo shows both of them in quite a positive light: they are smiling, we aren’t making them say anything stupid,” he said.
In October, Sarkozy became the first French president to divorce while in office when he ended his stormy 11-year marriage to his second wife Cecilia.
AFP reported that last month, Ryanair reached an out-of-court settlement with Sweden’s former prime minister Goeran Persson for using his picture in an ad campaign without his consent.
And in Ryanair’s latest clash with authorities, the British Advertising Standards Authority has told the airline to withdraw an advertisement showing a scantily-clad schoolgirl seductively twirling her hair in an empty classroom above the headline,”HOTTEST back to school fares”.
