‘Model’ Behavior From Southwest?
Travel Blog • Rob Verger • 03.04.09 | 10:28 AM ET
Photo by Would you feel offended if your Southwest plane had an enormous decal of Sports Illustrated model Bar Refaeli on it? Or if you saw the plane in question—called “S.I. One”—at an airport?
Today in the Sky has a good roundup of some of the negative reactions the plane has generated.
A quick glimpse at the comments below a photo of the plane shared by Southwest via TwitPic reveals that some don’t care so much (one commenter wrote: “The Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition is mainstream, and hardly controversial”), some disapprove (another wrote: “Tacky and sexist. Boo”) and others just want to joke about it.
As for me, all humor aside, I say: I think it was in poor taste to put this image on a plane. It’s a step too far. (Via Today in the Sky)
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Rob Verger is a frequent contributor to World Hum and the site's former air travel blogger. His articles and photographs have appeared in the Boston Globe and other publications, and he's a former undergraduate writing instructor at Columbia University. If you like, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter.
Eva Holland 03.04.09 | 11:47 AM ET
Considering this is the same airline that forced a passenger to cover herself up with a blanket for wearing a miniskirt and a low-cut top? It’s a bit rich.
Julia Ross 03.04.09 | 1:49 PM ET
right on, Eva.
Sophia Dembling 03.04.09 | 5:51 PM ET
I’m with the naysayers. I’m sick to death of the mainstreaming of the objectification of women. The S.I. swimsuit issue might not be considered controversial, but it should be. What is sporting about it?
Jennifer 03.05.09 | 8:58 AM ET
I’m no marketing genius but I think it’s fairly safe to say that anyone interested in S.I. already knows about the swimsuit edition so let’s just hope that S.I. blows a whole lot of money on these advertisements and it doesn’t “bank “for them! Also, Bar Refaeli is really the only one who should be offended that S.I. slapped her onto the side of a plane! I realize that models make a living from basically selling their image, but if they don’t draw the line somewhere then who else is really to blame?
Chris 03.05.09 | 12:53 PM ET
1.) I am dying to know if the other side of the plane shows the, um, other side of the model.
2.) Shouldn’t the SI swimsuit issue feature swimmers? Or are they going to add modeling as an Olympic sport?
3.) Joking aside this really is a bit ridiculous, although not quite up there with the Hooters airline (is that still around?). They could surely find a better sponsor. Pizza Hut paid something like $35 million to put their logo on a Russian Proton rocket a few years ago, maybe they are interested?