Forced to Covet the Friendly Skies

Forced to Covet the Friendly Skies

Advertising has always had a "thing" for men, especially businessmen. The two ads that I chose to further examine have targeted the average businessman's weaknesses. Women, comfort, and greed are the main captivators of these two prints by Delta and NetJets. Most businesses have very deep pockets and are still managed by men. Appealing to this audience not only makes sense but it ties logic and emotion together. A male audience is targeted by these two airline ads to drive dollars into their pockets and black ink onto their bottom lines. The similarities end where the bank accounts begin though. Delta has positioned themselves as an affordable mode of transportation for the frequent traveler looking for something more than being crushed between two tourists, crying children, or fliers that have spent more money on fattening themselves up than they would like to spend on upgrading there seat. NetJets takes it one step further. Their idea is: you own the company(s), why sit next to all these schmucks? I have an idea, let's lease out some private jets in hourly packages for the few that can afford it. Both need to market themselves to their niche, making their prints not only helpful, but crucial.

The first ad is published by Delta, founded in 1928 in Monroe, Louisiana. Since their dawn the airline has reached so many milestones it's hard to fathom. For example, they are the only U.S. airline to serve six continents with 558 destinations in 114 countries. At the same time, they are currently ranked the World's Number 1 airline in passengers, Available Seat Miles (ASMs), and destinations served. Delta's annual revenue for 2008 was 34.3 Billion, and they deliver over 170 Million passengers to their destinations annually. As you can imagine, over the years the airline has used many different forms of advertisement and publicity, which span their lengthy career. It's no wonder that they can logically appeal to the public and not raise too many eyebrows when they go and flaunt a pretty woman with a bright smile. Not to mention that this was the norm of that era. (www.delta.com)

In the specific Delta print ad, dated 1969 and entitled "No Floor Show", the main focus are men's emotion and their wallets. Displayed for their viewers is a pretty, Caucasian stewardess, sporting a classic short blonde hair style, curled up at the bottom. She is wearing a knee length dress, red and black in color, with a floral pattern outlined in white. She is grinning from ear to ear with her pearly white teeth, carrying a tray with a coffee cup, martini glass, and a bowl, appealing to a person's need to be served. Kathleen M. Barry describes her as a "smiling, trim, figure... serving passengers was not work to her at all", in her book "Femininity in Flight" (P. 102). On each side of the aisle we see men dressed in suits, most with only their arm and drink in hand exposed, and on one of them you can catch a glimpse of his stern face. All of the men are wearing nice watches and wedding rings, maybe to further invoke the viewer's sense of stability and success. Slightly behind our flight attendant you can see a woman sitting with a martini in her hand, smiling up at her stewardess almost admiringly. This may be to display her gratitude, convey that she was impressed with our lovely attendant, or she might have just had one too many of those martinis. The seats that the patrons reside in look spacious and comfortable. Below the picture and the title is the caption tying it all together, "just a working girl working", drawing on men's emotions of the coveted flight attendant. This could be what made Barry, whom taught American History at Cambridge and has a doctorate in history from NYU, remark "in the late 1960s and early 1970s commercial expressions of the sexual revolution had cast stewardesses in a newly provocative role." (P. 174)

On the other hand, we have NetJets, owned by one of the richest men in the world, Warren Buffet, leaving the lust for stewardesses on the ground. They were founded in 1986 to cater to the travels of elite passengers (www.netjets.com). I am almost tempted to say that the fact of having Mr. Buffet as your owner buys you a base of logic that is difficult to build for any company. I mean, who wouldn't want to be in cahoots with this billionaire or one of his companies? He is very accomplished, well known, and world renown due to his business savvy strategies and skills. Not to mention that he looks likes your grandpa, so you automatically build a comfort and rapport that