Ryanair scraps ad with Spain's Queen Sofia

Low-cost airline Ryanair recently ran afoul of the Queen of Spain, who is no fan of the "cheeky celebrity exploitation ads" that are Ryanair's specialty. After Queen Sofia booked a £13 Ryanair flight to England to see her sick brother, the airline launched an ad campaign in Spain showing Sofia over the slogan, "Fly like a monarch." The implied joke is that she's cheap. A spokesperson for the Queen accused the carrier of "making improper use of the Queen's image," and probably came within a breath of announcing, "We are not amused." Ryanair has also lost face (and occasionally money) over the unauthorized images of the Spanish prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, and the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy. They should really stop this whole nonsense, or at least go after Italy, where no political leaders are in power long enough to get offended.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on June 10, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Airlines, Controversy, Europe, Kiefaber, Ryanair

Kevin Spacey flies American, never Ryanair

Kevin Spacey is the new face of American Airlines over in the U.K., and the carrier is already getting its money's worth out of him. The actor appears in three new spots from McCann Erickson, including the one above, directed by Michel Gondry, in which he searches for the perfect seat—beginning at the Old Vic theater (where he's been artistic director since 2003) and eventually settling into an American business-class lounger. The airline claims this is Spacey's first on-screen appearance in an ad campaign, though he has done voiceover work before. The two-time Oscar winner (for The Usual Suspects and American Beauty) also appears to be working overtime for the company. The video below, from the Financial Times ArcelorMittal Boldness in Business Awards, held in London last Thursday, shows Spacey announcing an award for Ryanair, which he then ridicules when it becomes clear no one from the Irish carrier has shown up.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on March 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Airlines, American Airlines, Celebrity endorsements, Europe, McCann Erickson, Nudd, Ryanair

Happy endings in Ryanair's business class

Sure, you could pay 10 euros to cross the Atlantic on Ryanair's new "long-haul" venture. But at a recent German press conference, shown above, CEO Michael O’Leary gave a pretty good reason to pay for business class. This clip might not be work-safe, so put on your headphones and skip ahead to the 1-minute mark. Maybe Ryanair should adopt JetBlue’s “Happy jetting” slogan. Via Consumerist.

—Posted by David Griner

Published on June 26, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Griner, Ryanair