There IS hope for me! (and I am not angry or upset that they asked Chris Farley to be one and not me!)
Posted on 12/29/2017 1:45:36 PM PST by nickcarraway
Vietnam's VietJet Aviation said on Thursday (Dec 28) it was standing by a controversial "bikini" calendar, a marketing ploy featuring scantily clad female models that has prompted criticism in conservative South-east Asia and beyond.
The annual calendar, which has gone viral online, is part of a broader marketing push by VietJet that has propelled the start-up airline's rapid growth, as it has taken market share from Vietnam Airlines.
The publication of the 2018 calendar - which critics say overly sexualises the image of flight attendants and other airline staff - comes as there is a growing debate in the global airlines industry about sexual harassment and in-flight assault of both passengers and employees.
VietJet, founded by Ms Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao - Vietnam's first female billionaire and one of a handful of women running a major airline globally - said the calendar emphasised the free choice of people to wear whatever they wanted.
READ ALSO VietJet Air releases 2018 calendar featuring bikini-clad models (yes, again) VietJet Air releases 2018 calendar featuring bikini-clad models (yes, again) "We are not upset when people associate us with the bikini image. If that makes people delighted and happy, then we'll be happy," Mr Luu Duc Khanh, VietJet's managing director, said in e-mailed comments to Reuters.
When asked about the views of Ms Thao, Mr Khanh said the CEO thought people "have the right to wear whatever they like, bikini or traditional ao dai", referring to the traditional Vietnamese long dress.
Ms Thao was unavailable for an interview.
The calendar has caused an online storm in Vietnam, with some people criticising and others defending the campaign. The 2018 calendar and a YouTube video of the photo shoot have been viewed more than 910,000 times since first appearing at the end of last month.
"I think (the calendar) is beautiful, not unpleasant at all," one user posted on Facebook under the avatar Mai Co. Another person, named as Van Nhi, said the airline was "creating scandal to gain attention". "It's getting more unpleasant."
Critics say VietJet's risque marketing, including the calendar and bikini fashion shows on board planes, presented an archaic and sexist image of cabin crew, even as the risk of harassment and assault go widely underreported.
VietJet is "taking us back 50 years by hyper-sexualising a female dominated work group in order to make a few bucks off a couple of cheesy calendars", said Ms Heather Poole, a veteran US flight attendant and author of a book about working the not-always-friendly skies.
"Women have to work so hard to be taken seriously, and in this case it's a woman in charge taking us back to the days of 'Coffee, Tea or Me?'," she added, alluding to a 1960s book about two fictitious female flight attendants that emphasised their sexual appetite.
วันนี้ วันที่ 18 ธ.ค.60 สายการบิน VietJetAir เปิดไฟล์ปฐมฤกษ์ เส้นทาง ดาลัด ( Dalat) สายการบิน1/3
Mr Khanh said Vietjet flight attendants have been trained to handle sexual harassment situations.
VietJet is not the first firm to use racy calendars to raise its profile. Italian tyre maker Pirelli - known for its calendars of glamorous female models - has overhauled the annual offering in recent years with less of a focus on nudity.
Irish budget carrier Ryanair Holdings in 2014 scrapped an annual charity calendar featuring female cabin crew posing in bikinis in favour of more family-friendly images.
Mr Khanh, who said the proceeds from sales of the VietJet calendar go to charity, acknowledged that there could be big changes in the content for the next version.
"Male models is a good idea for us to introduce in our calendars next year," he said.
People like Rosie O’Dowel are just upset that they were not asked to pose. And that is primarily what it boils down to. Victimhood rage, because no one is paying attention to them.
Rule of life, Models are attractive because looking good is their livelihood. Not everyone gets to be a model, not everyone gets to be an astronaut. Deal with it. If you don’t like the calendar, do not buy it and do not look at it. Real simple, even a snowflake can understand this.
Laraine Newman in the gold bikini.
UMMMM...engines? What...where?
It works for me.
I did not know I wanted to go to Viet Nam until I saw this calendar.
I like the “Enjoy flying!” next to the red-strappy-legging-thingies...
All I got to say is Ho Ho Ho.
5.56mm
“Are you a homo? The VietJet is not for you, but if you’re like 98% of the rest of the healthy, normal, adult male population, we can get you where you need to be. Short time, long time, no problem.”
Actually, I’d say “bizarre” might be a better word than sexy. But most of all, just remember that it’s Asia.
I was recently in Paris, where it appeared that all of Asia had gone to spend the winter touring, and despite the very cold weather, I saw one after another of what we call “fashion victims.” That is, people wearing a style that seems to be thought cutting edge fashion but makes them look like lunatics. Then in one of the ultra fancy shopping districts, I passed by a very high-end store, which judging by the name was that of a Korean designer, and the clothing in there looked like something not even a self-respecting mental patient would have worn.
Different standards, different aesthetic, I guess. This calendar will probably become a collector’s item!
Girls giggle with a little
“Turbulence!”
There IS hope for me! (and I am not angry or upset that they asked Chris Farley to be one and not me!)
What few times I have flown, never.
Is it just me, or do some of those girls look like they have more than a trace of GI DNA?
"Me love you long time."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Madison Avenue, here you come!
I’d almost consider it.
Good for them! Pushing back on pc-ism. Just had the most delicious bahn mi sandwich today - we have a large Vietnamese community who are doing very well without resorting the welfare.
I admit I don’t find any of the things they are wearing all that interesting except as props, though I do admire the look the red-strappy-thingy things give to that woman. (nobody seems to have notice my “Slapshot” reference!)
I can approve of that!
Between him and Ron Jeremy, there is hope for people like me.
That was my immediate first thought, and while it was likely difficult for some of the women growing up round-eyed in that society, as they get older, I would presume some of them made lemonade out of those lemons.
Hmmm....maybe we do need a little Viet-style communism to spice things up here in the Politically Correct States of America!!
:D
I remember the old “Fly Me!” days.....
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