She is Asian, wears a figure-hugging uniform, smiles gently, and looks nowhere near her 35 years. Now the Singapore Girl, an airline industry icon, may be about to get a more contemporary look.
In one of the world’s longest running advertising campaigns, Singapore Airlines’ flight attendants have become instantly recognizable corporate symbols and are the focus of the Southeast Asian carrier’s advertising.
But the advertising firm that created the campaign and the slogan “Singapore Girl — You’re a great way to fly,” now faces the risk of losing the lucrative deal. This month, Singapore Air invited rivals of Batey Ads, which has held the contract since the airline was formed in 1972, to also submit bids and the outcome could change the Singapore Girl.
Despite her success, critics complain the Singapore Girl concept is sexist and outmoded. The Straits Times once quoted a Qantas Airways chairman referring to the campaign as “massage parlour in the sky ads”.
The bidding for what is one of the most coveted advertising deals in the industry will be a tough race, particularly in the light of Singapore Air’s known focus on costs.
Advertising industry experts do not expect her to be canned but merely refreshed. “It’s been incredibly successful and you don’t just give up such a truly iconic symbol having spent 30 years to build it,” one executive at a large international agency said.
By Jan Dahinten,
Courtesy of Reuters
