Virgin cleared over ‘sexist’ ad

Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic airline has been cleared of sexism after a series of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over a new £6m ad campaign.

The retro commercial, celebrating the airline's 25th anniversary, features a glamorous all-girl cabin crew strutting through an airport for Virgin Atlantic's first flight in 1984. As they go, the crowds drool over the attractive hostesses, with one male onlooker squirting hamburger filling onto himself in excitement.

At the end of the ad, whose strapline is 'Still red hot', two men are seen mesmerised by the pilot and his crew. "I need to change my job," remarks one of the men. "I need to change my ticket," says the other.

The ASA is reported to have received 29 complaints from viewers who argue the ad is insulting to women - especially those working in the airline industry - because it promotes the idea that the all-female crew is the main reason for choosing the airline. However, a spokesman for the ASA has confirmed today that no action will be taken over the ad.

This follows news that Branson is desperate to hire Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger, the heroic pilot who landed his US Airways plane on the Hudson river last month, saving the lives of all aboard.

Branson told the New York Daily News, "I'd like him to come fly for us. We'll make him the best-paid pilot at Virgin - we'll give him double (the salary of) anybody else. He also can become one of the astronauts in my intergalactic spaceship company. The man can write his own ticket with me."

Sullenberger is reported to have responded: "That's amazing. I hadn't heard that. I will be happy to entertain all the things that are coming my way."

At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Branson once again hit headlines - this time for taking part in a mock hostage situation, and pretending to queue for bread and water at a mock UN refugee camp, in an event designed to highlight the plight of the world's homeless. Does the man never sleep? ·