Ryanair's Ad and Calendar

Complaints have been rolling in over Ryanair's latest ad showing an attractive woman in a bikini advertising their charity calendar, 'The Girls of Ryanair Charity Calendar' (this year will be the fourth consecutive calendar). 

Update (15/02/12) - they were banned. Unbelievable. 

The online campaign, started by Ghada, herself a member of Ryanair cabin crew, has so far gathered about 8,500 signatures, and states, "Stop selling your staff. I'm a member of an airline Cabin Crew and what's more I love my job. My work colleagues, many of whom are male, work hard with me to ensure the safety of our passengers. Safety is our number one priority, not the brand of our underwear."

Of course the ASA have been brought into it. They say they have received 10 complaints from members of the public who have said that the ads are 'sexist and objectify women, particularly female cabin crew', and that the ads are 'offensive and unsuitable for display in a national newspaper'. Let's not discuss the Page 3 girls then.

As much as I hate Ryanair (and I really, really do), I have to admit that this doesn't bother me. I presume Michael O'Leary didn't force anyone to take their clothes off, and after all, it's a charity calendar. This year, they hope to raise £85,000, which would bring the total raised by Ryanair’s cabin crew to £430,000. Quite a nice figure really.

So what exactly are all those people annoyed about? Objectifying women? Even if it was their call? What would they say if the men stripped off? What would they say if the women were less sexy? Perhaps dear Ghada didn't read the ad properly and see the 'Buy the 2012 cabin crew charity calendar on Ryanair.com!'? 

What can I say? I'm a woman, and I don't care. If the crew wanted to do it, and it's for charity, then let it go, Ghada. Let it go. 

Mutton Dressed as Lamb

I always think of this saying when a fast food chain hires some creatives who come up with a new logo/package/interior or pretty much anything else. At the end of the day - it's fatty, greasy, unhealthy, and the restaurants are filled with undesirables (myself included occasionally). 

Over in Singapore, Burger King have recently unveiled their latest attempt (from OutofStock) at making these places look, well, nice, and nice it does look. Empty and unused. Just wait until it's filled with squashed chips, crying kids, the weirdos that come for free, and that fast food aroma.

The idea behind it was that 'flame grilled' connotated a nice BBQ setting, or a 'garden grill', which it does. If you're at a BBQ in a garden. However, Burger King is not a pleasant garden grill, it's a fast food joint. Deal with it. 

Communications Fail

There's a cupcake/bakery in Copenhagen called Agnes Cupcakes. They acutally made the cupcakes for my wedding in July. They're good cupcakes (the icing needs more butter, but that's another story for another time).

They've been making headlines recently, but not for their baking skills. 

The employment contract there features a confidentiality clause, with a fine of 250,000 kroner. That's a lot of money (about £29,000). Labour market researcher, Henning Jorgensen, says, "I've never seen anything like it. It is the first example I've seen on a slave contract in Denmark. And it is just a slave contract, because it breaks all laws."

Agnes' lawyer, Catrine Søndergaard Byrne, says, "I realise that it is a lot of money, but with Agnes, you get a special, better product than if you go to the local baker. It's a unique product, and if the business secrets are passed on, it can have a huge detrimental effect on business. Therefore, we believe that we can argue for a very severe penalty."

Well, I can understand that they don't want their secret to get out, but where exactly is this secret? If it's so secret surely it's only known to the head bakers, or management, and therefore up to them who finds out? Or is it just printed on a bit of A4 round the back of the shop? 

Faced with all this, the owner, Kristian Vangsgaard, tried to demonstrate that his employees are good employees, hardworking and trusted. "A third or more of the girls are 'wannabe reality TV stars'. They think that working at Agnes Cupcakes is just cool, and looks good. Some of them don't want to do anything, just standing around chatting and not picking up the phone."

Oh, wait, what? You employed layabouts who don't give a shit? Kristian, Kristian, Kristian... Communicate much? We have to give them a little credit though, I mean, they do pay their wages on time...  

An update has appeared on their Facebook page (horrifically translated by Bing).

Too easy? I doubt people will stop buying their cupcakes - we're such a fickle bunch, but one thing's for sure, Kristian needs a crash course in communication. If you're so worried about your secret, why not employ people who actually want to work? Who you can trust? They might cost a little extra, but hey, how much is your secret worth?

Quotes taken from Politiken.

Update

Apparently Kristian admits that he 'speaks before he thinks', and does apologise to his employees. However, I'm still surprised to see that in this day and age, someone who runs a well-known and well-liked business would speak before thinking - especially to a journalist. Although it seems now that he's other other problems - old cupcakes. Is this just a pissed off employee, or is it fact? Either way, I'm glad I'm not Kristian right now.