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Singapore Girl is a consistent visual advertising slogan applied to depictions of female flight attendants (SIA still refers to them as "Stewardesses" ) of Singapore Airlines (SIA) dressed in the distinctive "Sarong Kebaya" SIA uniform since 1972 and remains a prominent element of SIA's marketing.

Singapore Airlines' hospitality and cabin service has been recognised with awards from magazines, travel and tourism industries, including being awarded 'World's Best Cabin Crew Service' by the Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards for 17 consecutive years and the long running campaign emphasises these service aspects.

Origin

The iconic images and branding of the Singapore Girl was first established in 1968 during the era of Singapore Airlines' predecessor, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA), when the airlines of Malaysia and Singapore were still joined together in developing and expanding an intercontinental network. The "Sarong Kebaya" uniform was first introduced by MSA and worn by the flight stewardesses and was later developed to become the prominent symbol of Singapore Airlines' corporate image. The original branding was developed by Ian Batey.

Global Icon

Malaysia-Singapore Airlines ceased operations on 1 October 1972 and Singapore Airlines took over as its successor. Singapore Girl was coined in 1972 when Pierre Balmain, a French haute couture designer, was hired by Singapore Airlines to construct and update the the Malay "Sarong Kebaya" as part of the cabin crew's uniform. Since then, the uniform has gained worldwide recognition as part of SIA's recognizable signature branding.

In April 2001, the shoes were replaced by Pierre Balmain-designed safety shoes, in light of safety reviews after the Singapore Airlines Flight 006 crash where female flight attendants complained of missing sandals.

There are 4 Kebaya colours that represent the ranking of the Singapore Girls:

• Blue – Flight Stewardess
• Green – Leading Stewardess
• Red – Chief Stewardess
• Purple - In-Flight Supervisor

Although the uniform of the Singapore Girl has remained largely unchanged, the ordinary male flight attendant, in contrast, wears relatively sober light blue business jackets and grey trousers. There have been confirmations that uniforms for male SIA cabin crew will be updated to a more prominent fashion in early 2008, to coincide with the release of the A380 fleet planes.

The following 4 jacket colours distinguish male cabin crew:

• Light Blue - Flight Steward
• Sky Blue - Leading Steward
• Navy Blue - Chief Steward
• Grey Suit - In-Flight Supervisor

Commercial branding

The Singapore Girl has almost become a visual trade mark and brand for Singapore Airlines while the verbal slogan is "A Great Way To Fly". The Singapore Girl is said to engender "Asian values and hospitality" and has been described as "caring, warm, gentle, elegant and serene".

A wax figure of the Singapore Girl was created and shown at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London in 1994, as the first figure to represent a commercial undertaking. This sculpture was sent to the Delta Air Lines shuttle concourse at LaGuardia Airport in New York City in 1995.

Visual Impact

Since 1972, the image of the Singapore Girl has appeared in many advertisements in several media forms and promotions across the world. Recently the Singapore Girl has been seen in television commercials promoting Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 300-ER Business Class and the Airbus A380 whose maiden commercial voyage to Sydney was made on 25 October 2007.

In March 2004, the Singapore Girl won the Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award for the 18th Singapore Tourism Board (STB)'s Tourism Award.

Recruitment

As part of efforts to build up the image of the "Singapore Girl", the airline runs a rigorous training program for cabin and flight crew to ensure the SIA brand experience is delivered. The airline's repute, and the resulting prestige of the job has allowed it to be highly selective during its recruitment process as it receives numerous applications locally and from around the region. Singapore Airlines used to recruit only Singaporeans and Malaysians as cabin crew. However, since 1995, Singapore Airlines has extended the recruitment of Singapore Girls to other areas such as China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan to expand global services and minimise language barriers between cabin crew and travellers.

Only 20% of the hopefuls will be sent through to become a "Singapore Girl".

Here are some of the rules and regulations they must follow.

• Hair must be black or dark brown. No highlights allowed. Long hair must be coiffed neatly into a bun. Short hair should be above the collar line. Fringe should not touch the eyebrow.
• No fanciful, dangling earrings allowed. Only studs or pearls. No chains and necklaces allowed. Only simple bracelets and rings can be worn. Only small and simple watches can be worn.
• A spare kebaya must be brought for every flight, even short one-hour flights.
• Safety shoes, or covered sandals must be worn during takeoff and landing. At other times, she should wear the batik slippers.
• Toenails must be of the bright red colour prescribed by the company. If her toenails are not painted, stockings must be worn to substitute for the non red toenails.
• Eyebrows must be shaped, and cannot be the fake drawn-on or tattooed types. Eye shadow must be of the color prescribed by the company - either blue or brown, depending on skin tone.
• Lipstick colour must be among the few shades of bright red prescribed by the company. Pink or plum colors are not allowed.
• Nail polish must be of the bright red colour prescribed by the company. Nails should not be chipped.

Criticisms

The Singapore Girl marketing concept has been criticized as being sexist: apart from the inaccuracy of the term "Girl," the concept has been accused of being a stereotype of Asian women as being desirable and subservient to white males. The marketing concept is unlikely to be replaced altogether in any future marketing campaigns:

"To remove the Singapore Girl icon from SIA is like removing Mickey Mouse from Disneyland..."

— Singapore's The Straits Times

With advertising agency TBWA winning over the pitch for Singapore Airlines on 16 April 2007, the carrier's branding strategy is bound to change and adapt to new times. Despite this, SIA has promised to retain the Singapore Girl and her traditional uniform.

(New York-based advertising agent TBWA Worldwide beat two other short-listed candidates, namely DDB Worldwide and Publicis. This contract is worth S$50 million per year over the following five years, making it the agent's largest win since it started operations in Asia in the late 1990s. The company provided no details about the three firms' bids, though its spokesperson Stephen Forshaw said they will start the new branding campaign "as early as there is a practicable opportunity". This change in advertising agency will not affect SIA's buying media agency, which is presently MEC.)

References

1. "Press Release: Singapore Airlines A380 Lands..." First to Fly A380. 2006-09-05. Retrieved 2007-11-21. Ms Jasmine Lum Wei Ming, Singapore Airlines, Stewardess
2. "Cabin Crew Appointments". Singapore Airlines (UK Content) Job Adverts. 2007-11-05. Retrieved 2007-11-21. If you are warm, hospitable with a winning approach to customer service, we welcome you to join our elite team of Singaporean/ Malaysian Flight Stewardesses/ Stewards. (Residing in Singapore) Click here for more details. Flight Stewardesses (Singapore Permanent Residents) Click here for more details Indonesian Flight Stewardesses. Click here for more details. Malaysian Flight Stewardesses/ Stewards. Click here for more details. Indian Flight Stewardesses. Click here for more details. Chinese Flight Stewardesses. Click here for more details Hong Kong Flight Stewardesses/ Stewards. Click here for more details {{cite web}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 432 (help)
3. "Current Uniforms - Cabin Crew". 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
4. Lee, Julian (2007-09-06). "Epitome of the modern woman keeps starring role". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-11-21. Singapore Airlines stewardesses dressed in sarong kebaya uniform pose at Changi International Airport in Singapore. Singapore Airlines have said the iconic Singapore Girl, a symbol of the carrier's renowned in-flight service standards, will remain. Dale Woodhouse, Singapore Airlines' manager of passenger marketing, said that she would still be "front and centre of the campaign", which began last week in the lead-up to the inaugural flight on October 26. "As usual she will be a central part of the branding and the image of Singapore Airlines," Mr Woodhouse confirmed after reports earlier this year had her permanently grounded for being too old fashioned and sexist. When asked if she had been updated, Mr Woodhouse replied: "What's there to update? She's eternal, she's the epitome of the modern image and the traditional style of Singapore Airlines. Why would you want to get rid of that?" {{cite web}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 458 (help)
5. Singapore Airlines Company Information, retrieved on December 24, 2006.
6. SIA Awards & Achievements, retrieved on December 24, 2006.
7. http://www.vlifestyle.com/entrepreneurs/inside1.htm#Ian_Batey
8. http://www.batey.com.sg/
9. "The Creation of Singapore Airlines". Singapore Airlines. {{cite web}}: Text "date 2007" ignored (help)
10. Phan, Dr. Seamus. "Rejuvenating Ageing Brands". All about branding. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
11. Roll, Martin. "Singapore Airlines - An Excellent Asian Brand". All about branding. Retrieved 2007-11-21. Think about one of the strongest brands from Asia, and chances are that Singapore Airlines and its long-serving, almost iconic Singapore Girl easily come to mind.
12. Singapore Airlines - An Excellent Asian Brand, VentureRepublic, retrieved on December 24, 2006.
13. Richardson, Michael (1993-06-08). "The Singapore Girl". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2007-11-21. Just how many more Singapore Airlines stewardesses must be molested in flight before the airline reduces the free flow of alcoholic drinks to passengers?" thundered Tan Sai Siong in a recent column for the Straits Times, Singapore's main English-language newspaper. TAN was writing after a German metalworker was fined 2,000 Singapore dollars for hugging a Singapore Airlines flight attendant during a flight from Frankfurt to Singapore. A Japanese farmer was docked a similar amount for molesting a flight attendant during a flight from Nagoya to Singapore. At about the same time, a Sri Lankan was fined 1,000 Singapore dollars for punching a male Singapore Airlines flight attendant who told him to stop staring at a female colleague in the cabin crew and return to his seat. In a letter to the Straits Times, a Singaporean reader, Chan Kwee Sung, said it was not "alcohol that spurs the libido of the male passenger, but the image of the Singapore Girl that has so long been the hard sell of SIA all over the world. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 267 (help)
14. Singapore Airlines - flying tiger, Brandchannel.com, retrieved on December 24, 2006.
15. Outstanding Contribution to Tourism award to the Singapore Girl
16. "To Tighten Belts, SIA to Shorten Skirts". "Singapore's Premier Satirical Humour Website". 2003-05-23. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
17. Dines, Gail (2003). Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-Reader. Sage. ISBN 076192261X. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |origmonth=, |month=, |chapterurl=, and |origdate= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
18. Ryan, Chris (2001). Sex Tourism: Marginal People and Liminalities. Routledge. pp. pp142. ISBN 0415195098. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |origmonth=, |accessmonth=, |month=, |chapterurl=, and |origdate= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
19. ^ Gamar Abdul Aziz (2007-03-09). "SIA says Singapore Girl icon will remain, no change to uniform". Singapore: Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2007-12-28. In a statement, SIA said its advertisements might change but not the look of its crew, nor the level of high service it provides
20. ^ Archana Venkat (2007-05-08). "The 'Singapore girl' may get an Indian face". Chennai: The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 2007-12-28. Brand will have a fresh, modern look without compromising the icon; "The Singapore Girl will remain. She is not a creature of advertising," assured Mr Stephen Forshaw, Vice-President (Public Affairs), Singapore Airlines
21. Tor Ching Li (17 April 2007). "SIA's their biggest win". Today. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

• The Singapore Girls, Audio reportage by Jayne Clark of USA Today in Flash format.

• Brands
• Singapore Airlines