Ryanair (sort of) Make it up with Le President

An update on the piece a few days ago reporting the unauthorised use of President Sarkozy and his then squeeze now spouse Carla Bruni. The newlyweds have have won a case against low-cost airline Ryanair for using their picture without consent.

But the court in Paris awarded Ms Bruni only 60,000 euros (US$89,000; £45,000) - a fraction of the 500,000 euros she had asked for. Mr Sarkozy was given the symbolic single euro he had claimed for himself.

Ms Bruni - a former model - said 500,000 euros would have been her normal professional fee for appearing in an advertisement. But the court put her loss of earnings at only 60,000 euros.

Ryanair had apologised before the case came to court for using the couple's image without their consent, insisting it meant no offence. "It was a humorous comment on a matter of great public interest," a Ryanair spokeswoman in Dublin said.

We have also heard that Ryanair has been quoted as saying that they're so grateful for the enormous amount of publicity that the whole thing has generated they're happy to donate a further £45,000 to a charity of Ms Bruni/Mme Sarkozy's choice. That's why we love 'em!

Caledonian Girls - A TV Advertising Classic

Insider Trading?

According to the Times yesterday Silverjet are making a rip of advert of the ‘iconic’ British Airways advert from 1989, using the same director, Hugh Hudson, who directed Chariots of Fire in 1981. It’s the one where 150 swimmers in red swimsuits are seen, followed by hundreds of people dressed in blue walking through Los Angeles and hundreds more in white in a field.

Silverjet’s ad features a single red suited swimmer and lone swimmer in a red suit, instead of hundreds and thousands of extras, only four people form the face, with a handful of other actors posing as passengers and crew.

The ad first shows at 1.55pm this Saturday during the England/Australia Rugby World Cup Quarter Finals and will then run globally.

This is classic airline industry looking inwards rather than outwards, too concerned with the ‘in joke’. However, they’ve managed ton get the Times to do their PR for them and no doubt others will do the same. (What do you think we’re doing! – Ed)