Special Report: Social Media
Nok's Facebook campaign raises hackles
March 1st 2013
When majority Thai Airways International-owned budget operator, Nok Air, launched a promotion to attract customers on its Facebook page in January, chief executive, Patee Sarasin, received an unexpected reaction. Read More »
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| Nok Air: calendar girls Facebook campaign divided opinion |
The campaign, offering participants a free copy of the carrier’s 2013 calendar featuring photographs of scantily-dressed bikini girls posing in front of its aircraft, raised the hackles of government officials and political groups.
Culture ministry permanent secretary, Prisana Pongtatpitakkul, felt the calendar was “inappropriate”.
“The campaign focuses on the country’s bad reputation regarding sex services. The message being sent out by the airline could also be misinterpreted as encouraging passengers to sexually harass air hostesses,” said another complainant.
Patee was unrepentant saying there were so many viewers that the webpage crashed. He insisted the calendar did not damage the image of either his company or Thailand because the models were not Nok Air staff.
“So far the campaign has received positive feedback, increasing the number of passengers,” said Patee.
It may have been a small incident in the world of aviation, but it highlighted the perils of social media for airlines.
