Singapore Air never intended to dump Singapore Girl

SINGAPORE, Mar 12 (Reuters) Singapore Airlines said on Monday it never considered giving up the iconic image and uniform of its Singapore Girl flight attendants when it decided to take a fresh look at its advertising campaign.

The world's biggest airline by stock market value said in January that it would review its advertising agency of 35 years, prompting a debate in Singapore newspapers and in airline industry circles on whether the image needed to be refreshed. Critics say it is sexist and outmoded.

''We have never had any intention to change the sarong kebaya uniform of our crew. It is so well recognised the world over,'' a Singapore Airlines spokesman said.

''This is really about how the airline is projected in advertising, not how we do what we do.'' Singapore Air last week short-listed three agencies to handle the lucrative advertising contract -- DDB, Publicis and TBWA -- and said the creators of the Singapore Girl, Batey Ads, was no longer in the running.

Batey has held the contract since the airline was formed in 1972 and the Singapore Girl has featured heavily in all its print and broadcast advertising where other airlines rely on showing off new aircraft or comfortable seats.

However, recent Singapore Air campaigns increasingly displayed ultra-modern planes, updated seats or inflight food in addition to Singapore Girl.

The advertising contract is thought to be worth around S million (US million).

Despite her success, critics complain the Singapore Girl concept and her tight sarong kebaya uniform, created by French designer Pierre Balmain, are passe and largely intended to serve male passengers' fantasies of desirable, subservient Oriental women.

Singapore Air's spokesman said the recent discussion about how the airline projects itself ''has been interesting, but in some ways, has gone a bit further than the mandate of the creative agency review''.

He said that the look and feel of its advertising would be refreshed but the fundamentals would remain unchanged.

REUTERS DKS BST0822