You've Come a Long Way, Baby!: Women and Airplane Ads

It may come as a surprise that women have been included in airline advertisements since the invention of airline advertising.  Back in the 1920s, when it was more common for people to purchase their own planes, famous female aviators would show up in newspaper ads, proving that the planes were so easy to operate that even a woman could fly them.  However, the days of “A girdle to set you free” style advertising is long gone, right?

Wrong.  The use of women’s bodies to sell plane tickets is a storied tradition that has lasted well into the 21st century.  The crux of it started in the 1950s, when commercial airlines became more popular.  The passengers on these flights were usually businessmen flying solo.  Women did not typically have a reason to fly anywhere, mostly because it was still considered to be a luxury.

The 1960s, however, saw the birth of one of the most enduring tropes in all of marketing: the Sexy Flight Attendant.  In the early 60s the trope was relatively tame.  Airlines had stringent rules about which girls would be acceptable stewardesses based on their age, sex, weight, height, marital status, etc…  That meant that the ones who were actually hired were basically pre-approved marriage material.  The airlines taught them to cook, clean, and make cocktails.  What more could a single man ask for?

As the 1960s wore on, the advertisements got raunchier, but the second wave feminist movement was also underway.  This came to a head with the notorious “Fly Me” campaign put forth by the now-extinct National Airlines.  The campaign ran in 1971 and cost the company $9.5 million.  The campaign featured five stewardesses (Cheryl, Jo, Margie, Linda, and Laura) introducing themselves and requesting for the readers to “fly them”.  Millions of people flew Cheryl last year.  And you can fly Laura all the way to Miami!  It was more than billboard ads, though.  National Airlines also painted the names of the women on the front of their planes and made their stewardesses wear “Fly Me” buttons while on the job.  The National Organization of Women tried to shut the ad campaign down with an injunction and in response, National Airlines changed their tactics.  Now the ads featured the stewardesses “looking seductively into the camera and breathing ‘I’m going to fly you like you’ve never been flown before’”.

However, actual real-life Cheryl Fioravanti saw no problem with the ad.  The National Organization of Women only protested harder when a quote from Cheryl came out saying, “I’m afraid I don’t agree with the women’s liberation very much. I don’t think that household chores should be shared. I like to be in the kitchen and I like to have Gene in charge of paying the bills.”

Unfortunately, despite the fact that the flight attendant profession has made leaps and bounds in the past few decades when it comes to gender equality and portrayal, “sex sells” remains a prominent idea in airline advertising.

Air Asia, a low cost Malaysian airline, recently released an ad that makes it feel like nothing has changed.

The discount airline Spirit Airlines is making ads that feel more like they are for Axe Body Spray than airlines. (I actually had to search just to find one that was appropriate enough to show.)

Even Southwest Airlines has started pasting Sports Illustrated swimsuit models on the sides of some of their planes.

It looks like it’s going to be a while before anything changes, so perhaps it’s better to just put on your apron, grab your Virginia Slims and BIC “For Her” pens, and head for the nearest emergency exit.  Thanks for flying with us.

Bibliography

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"ADVERTISING: Fly Me Again." Time. Time Inc., 24 June 1974. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,944906,00.html>.

"The Groovy Age of Flight: A Look at Stewardesses of the 1960s-70s - Flashbak." Flashbak The Groovy Age of Flight A Look at Stewardesses of the 1960s70s Comments. 2015. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://flashbak.com/the-groovy-age-of-flight-a-look-at-stewardesses-of-the-1960s-70s-28575/>.

Person, and Jian DeLeon. "The Sexiest Airline Advertisements." Complex. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.complex.com/style/2011/09/the-sexiest-airline-advertisements/>.

"What Old Ads Say about Us, What Europeans Say about Us, Elegant Government Buildings - Travelers United." Travelers United. 11 May 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2016. <https://travelersunited.org/musings/sunday-musings-what-old-ads-say-about-us-what-europeans-say-about-us-elegant-government-buildings-best-ff-mile-redemptions/>.