Ryanair's Schoolgirl Advert Is Slammed

The use of a ‘schoolgirl’ model in advertising by budget airline, Ryanair has led to a reprimand by advertising chiefs.

What was described as a ‘provocative schoolgirl’ appeared during a school-term flight sale and the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland has now said the image, and the word "Hottest" printed under it, was inappropriate.

The complaints committee told the low fares carrier not to use the type of advertisement again.

The ASAI also warned advertisers that care should be taken when using images of children or people portrayed as children.

"Advertisers must take responsibility for the messages they are sending out to children, teenagers and the public at large," said Joanna McMinn, of the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) which lodged a complaint against the advert.

"The recent Ryanair ad depicted the sexualisation of a young woman, purely for commercial purposes.

"Advertisers, promoters and companies must take social responsibility into account when devising advertisements and making decisions to run with these ads.

"The recent Ryanair ad displays an obvious disrespect for young girls and women," she said.

The advert, which ran in national newspapers and on the airline’s website, coincided with children returning to school at the end of August.

ASAI said it received numerous complaints from members of the public as well as the NWCI, which claimed the woman was dressed inappropriately and posing in a sexually-provocative way in order to attract attention.

The NWCI felt the advertisement was inappropriate, irresponsible and distasteful, adding the direct link between the sexualised image and schoolchildren, it believed, was irresponsible and contradictory.

In response, Ryanair argued that several companies used attractive females and males to promote their products and they saw their advertisement in the same light.

The carrier told the complaints committee it was not intended to create offence but could see no difference between their advertisement and those that ran in newspapers on other days.

Ryanair added that the fact the model was wearing a uniform was irrelevant.

(BMcC)