The mantra that sex sells is among the most commonly repeated in the world of advertising. And this week it appears that Jordan has decided to get in on the raunchy act.
Royal Jordanian, the Kingdom’s national airline, raised eyebrows on Sunday with a cheeky advert that bragged about the “inches” on offer on its planes.
The inches in question were a reference to the amount of legroom on flights.
But this was only revealed after the question “how many inches is yours?” was posed, followed by a list of national lengths.
Ladies and gentlemen, @RoyalJordanian ad. No comment. Causing a stir on social media. I wonder why! pic.twitter.com/7yBI8WhiXz
— Natasha Tynes (@NatashaTynes) 30 October 2016
The innuendo – apparently based solely on the fact that male genitalia is also frequently measured in inches – was too much to bear for much of Jordanian Twitter.
@RoyalJordanian seriously? u're not Virgin Airlines or easyJet,u're the national ROYAL carrier,totally out of brand character!fire ur agency pic.twitter.com/jDLq1Tmkxm
— Lina Shehadeh (@Linasheh) 30 October 2016
Most people were furious at the sexual connotations of the advertisement, but the general inconsistency of the pun itself was perhaps at the root of much unease. Beyond the fact that both are being measured in inches, legroom on planes and male junk have almost nothing in common. The lengths in question are completely different. Sixty inches is nothing to brag about, it’s terrifying, and biologically impossible.
Do these ads go through any review or approval process?! Our national carrier, ladies and gentlemen. @RoyalJordanian pic.twitter.com/5P5VScAlIv
— Hazem Zureiqat حازم (@hazem) 30 October 2016
The response was not universally negative however. Many tweeters applauded the pun as groundbreaking for the Jordanian market, and a smart move that did the job it was meant to.
Kudos not only to the agency, but also to the @RoyalJordanian #marketing management who had the balls to publish this. #Ads #Advertising pic.twitter.com/v6IiBsl2JH
— Ghassan Younis (@eGhassan) 30 October 2016
@MaYousef @RoyalJordanian
— أردني (@angryJorda) 30 October 2016
The very first ad like this in Jordan
Nailed it
Sowill all publicity be good publicity in this case? The proof will likely be in the profits for Royal Jordanian.
BS
