Virgin Atlantic sexy video sells seats

A new advertising campaign by Virgin Atlantic Airways, IATA code VS, which is owned by British tycoon, Sir Richard Branson's  Virgin Group (51%) and Singapore Airlines (49%), shows in lush, erotic images, and the intense music of Feeling Good which accompanies it, that sex sells.

It's a mantra that marketers never forget, and much more sophisticated than Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary's flight attendant's bikini calendars. Both these and many other recent examples of pulchritude in the news, such as the out of work cabin crew from bankrupt Mexicana launching their own bikini calendar, or Corinne Thiele making headlines sashaying through TSA security at LAX before Thanksgiving in a stylishly revealing black bikini, also make that same point.

New York Times aviation writer Christine Negroni agrees. Her blog "Flying Lessons" is better than Teuscher's champagne truffles, with none of the calories or caffeine, and costs much less than $98.50 for an 18-ounce box, plus tax and shipping.

According to Ms. Negroni, writing about Delta Air Lines former flight attendant Ellen Simonetti, the author of "Diary of a Dysfunctional Flight Attendant: The Queen of Sky Blog", whom the carrier fired for having her photo taken in an unbottoned uniform blouse showing a hint of Victoria's Secret (I hope) lingerie, creative directors are pulling out all the stops these days for their clients ad campaigns.

To quote Ms. Negroni, "What I'm saying here is that the entire aviation enterprise is innately enticing and always has been. And for just as long this quality has been both positive and negative. Terrorists can't resist aviation for drama, and neither could assorted hijackers and bank robbers before them. Politicians can't keep their hands off the airlines either and that's been the case since the thirties when the most frequent thing flying was the U.S. Mail."

It is also enticing to writers, myself included, who have discovered that any story with the word "bikini" in it will draw in readers faster than the mythical "chick magnet" that Sacha Baron Cohen's alter ego Borat wanted to include as an accessory for his used vehicle.

It is also more uplifting writing about erotic marketing trends than aviation accidents, load factors, or passenger revenues. However, we haven't yet been totally corrupted, and will continue to cover all industry news as well.

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