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.
Singapore Girls pose for a photo before the SIA Cup horse
race in May last year. In one of the world's longest running advertising
campaigns, the flight attendants have become instantly recognisable
corporate symbols and are the focus of the Southeast Asian carrier's
advertising. [Reuters/File]
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In one of the world's longest running advertising campaigns, Singapore
Airlines' flight attendants have become instantly recognisable 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 submit bids and the outcome
could change the Singapore Girl.
Despite her success, critics complain the Singapore Girl concept is sexist,
outmoded and largely intended to serve male passengers' fantasies of desirable,
subservient Oriental women.
Singapore newspaper The Straits Times once quoted a Qantas Airways chairman
referring to the campaign as "massage parlour in the sky ads".
But Richard Pinkham of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in Singapore said
that while the girl image may be outdated, much of the airline's cachet is a
result of its cabin crew.
"It's possible that they will de-emphasise the name it is a bit passe to
refer to professional women as 'girls' but maintain the flight attendant image
as a central point of focus in their advertising. It certainly does capture
attention more than a photo of a chair would."
Not sexist
Recent adverts for Singapore Air have focused on the airline's ultra-modern
aircraft, updated seats and inflight food. But the perfectly groomed Singapore
Girl still features prominently, gently covering a sleeping passenger or
offering meals.
Former flight attendants reject the sexism charge and many take pride in a
profession that lost much of its glamour since air travel became an everyday
phenomenon.
One ex-Singapore Girl who asked to be identified only as Nancy said the
airline should hold on to the campaign and not "put their crew into dull
business suits".
Nine out of ten of the female cabin crew are Singaporean or Malaysian, while
the remainder are hired from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan
for language skills.
They follow strict rules, down to the way they wear long hair never loose and
the colour of nail varnish or lipstick.