GeekSugar

Travel Firms Making Ads Sexy to Lure Customers

Emily Co — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:15:06 PDT

The suggestive taglines for travel ads are apparently making a comeback, notes a WSJ blog. One of Air France's latest print ads shows a model with an Air France logo pulling on her corset string, which was already unraveling. Another example is Cathay Pacific - some of the Hong Kong airline's real-life stewardesses were featured on the ads and were outfitted in revealing outfits in several shots. One of the Cathay's stewardesses was quoted in the ads saying, "I just like to listen more than talk."

On a more viral front, the YouTube video of Air Cebu stewardesses breaking out into a music-video-type dance on the plane seemed to be a roaring success. I'm not quite feeling these ads (granted I'm probably not their target demographic), but I'm wondering if you agree with me on this. Are these sexy advertising campaigns a hit or miss?

Photo courtesy of Air France

Front Page: Debris Found in Search For Air France Plane

TresSugar — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:00:42 PDT

Brazil's vice president announced that debris from the missing Air France flight may have been found in the ocean. - New York Times
Conan O'Brien debuted as host of The Tonight Show last night. - New York Daily News
President Obama plans to nominate Republican Congressman John McHugh as Secretary of the Army. - Wall Street Journal
Obama also is set to deliver a highly anticipated speech about US-Muslim relations at the University of Cairo Thursday. - BBC News
North Korea's dear leader Kim Jong-Il has signaled that his youngest son will be his heir. - Boston Globe

Source

Air France's In-Flight Phone Service Isn't As Great As Expected

GeekSugar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 06:00:26 PDT

When Air France first announced that they would be rolling out an in-flight telephone service, I couldn't help but ask if you would want to talk on the phone in an airplane. Over seventy percent of you replied with a no because you wouldn't want to disturb anyone sitting near you.

Although many U.S. airlines have steered clear from offering cell phone use in airplanes for this very reason, Air France's in-flight calling service is now in full swing. Like anything else in its trial phase, there are certainly some glitches to iron out. According to The New York Times, a man who called Paris during an Air France flight could barely hear the other person and was told that he sounded like a small robot. The quality of technology that allows passengers to make and receive calls is said to need some improvement, and not only that, but on-board roaming charges cost about $5 a minute!

Isla Fisher Has an Animated Conversation With Alec Baldwin and Chris Pine in Cannes

Katie Henry — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:56:28 PDT

Dreamworks' next animated project, Rise of the Guardians, hits theaters this holiday season, but the film's starring voices Isla Fisher, Alec Baldwin, and Chris Pine were happy to talk about the film during a Q&A session with press in Cannes today. The trio are just a few of the stars in the ensemble cast, along with Hugh Jackman and Jude Law. The movie chronicles the so-called guardians - Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and more - in their fight to save the children of the world from an evil spirit, voiced by Jude. Guardians will likely be a project Isla can share with her daughters, Olive and Elula.

Alec is in France with fiancée Hilaria Thomas, and he's actually doing double-duty. In addition to press for Guardians, Alec is filming the documentary Seduced and Abandoned. He and writer-director James Toback are capturing the process involved in raising funds and selling an idea at Cannes. It seems Alec's turning his attention to film with news that 30 Rock will air its final episode next Fall in an abbreviated 13-episode season.

Fragrance Makers Capture the Scent of a Brand-New MacBook Pro

Miriam Lacey — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:30:00 PDT

In the 21st century, appreciation for "that new-car smell" may finally have been usurped by a scent that's much better aligned with the zeitgeist - the scent of an Apple Macbook Pro. Scent marketer Air Aroma says its labs have captured the bouquet of a freshly unboxed MacBook, and now the fragrance is being used as ambient scent for an art exhibition in Australia. The notes are exactly what you might expect: "the smell of the plastic wrap covering the box, printed ink on the cardboard, the smell of paper and plastic components within the box, and of course the aluminum laptop which has come straight from the factory where it was assembled in China."

How does one even begin to make such a scent, though? With an actual laptop, of course. An unopened MacBook Pro was sent to Air Aroma's suppliers in France, and from there, the noses "used the scents they observed unboxing the new Apple computer to source fragrance samples." The scent isn't being mass produced as of now, but there are undoubtedly some gadget junkies who'd probably be more than happy to catch a whiff of this unconventional fragrance.

Diane Kruger Jets North For Canadian Thanksgiving With Her Man Joshua

Allie Merriam — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:39:03 PDT

Diane Kruger carried her fedora Saturday when she touched down at the airport in Vancouver. She traveled north of the border to visit with her boyfriend, Joshua Jackson, while he works on Fringe in his native country. Diane's trip was timed to coincide with Canadian Thanksgiving today! The holiday should mean that Joshua has a day away from the set of his sci-fi show. The latest episode of Fringe aired last night, and it seems that the current season is one of Josh and his costars' best yet. As Josh focuses on the small screen, Diane has a few films heading to theaters. Her Special Forces is out in France on Nov. 2, and post-production work on Farewell, My Queen has started. At the moment, Diane's shooting Fly Me to the Moon with French director Pascal Chaumeil, who was the man behind Vanessa Paradis's 2010 movie Heartbreaker.

5 Things You Need to Know About the Dominique Strauss-Kahn Scandal

Tara Block — Mon, 16 May 2011 11:31:00 PDT

If you're hearing about how the IMF chief was taken off a plane in NYC for sexual assault and unclear about the significance, I've narrowed the scandal down to five bullet points.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is the 62-year-old head of the International Monetary Fund and was expected to announce his run as Socialist presidential candidate against current French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Many believed he could have become the president of France next year.
On Saturday, Strauss-Kahn was escorted by police off an Air France plane at JFK Airport in NYC after a maid at the Manhattan hotel he was staying at reported he sexually assaulted her. She said that after knocking on the door with no answer, she went into his room, where he came at her naked, locked the door, and forced her to perform oral sex on him in the bathroom.
Then on Sunday, a local official of the Socialist party told reporters that her daughter, Tristane Banon, was sexually attacked by Strauss-Kahn in 2002. Banon, the goddaughter of his second wife, was encouraged by her mom not to press charges. She said that she "didn't want to be known to the end of my days as the girl who had a problem with the politician."
Since there's no extradition treaty with France, officials were worried he'd pull a Roman Polanski and leave the country to avoid sentencing, so he was denied bail today and will remain in jail until at least the end of the week.
In 2008 he had an affair with a Hungarian economist and publicly apologized to his wife, Anne Sinclair, although it's publicly known that he's had several extramarital affairs.

Kathryn Ireland Talks Joining Million Dollar Decorators and Her Design Life in LA

Julia Millay Walsh — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:00:00 PDT

This week, I had the opportunity to chat with interior designer Kathryn Ireland, a cast member of Bravo's hit new reality show Million Dollar Decorators, about her career, clients, shopping routine, decorating advice, and experience on the series. Check out the first part of our interview below!CasaSugar: So how did you get involved in Million Dollar Decorators?

Kathryn Ireland: I was a guest judge on that show with Margaret Russell, Top Design, and I met with someone from Bravo and a girlfriend of mine, Brittany Lovett, brought up the idea to Bravo to have a decorating show with kind of an ensemble cast. And actually originally, it was three of us, and I happened to be the only one that ended up doing it. So I’ve kind of been there from the beginning.

I’ve also done a show in England called Design Wars, where I was on the air every day for a month making over a house that was actually a competition. I was representing England, and there were five other countries, and we all had to make over an identical house, kind of in the style of our country. So I’m pretty comfortable with being in front of the camera.

CS: How is balancing the show with your client base and your day-in and day-out workload?

KI: It’s juggling! I didn’t take my usual Summer holidays off, and I’ve got the kids, and even though they’re older, they still need parenting. Probably even more so now than when they were younger. So, you know, it was challenging, but ultimately it was really fun.

I was only interested in doing a show that was going to be amusing. I think too many of these shows are just dull, and I am more interested in entertainment than anything else. And I think the idea of this ensemble cast was very well cast, because I think we’re all incredibly different and we work well together, and I think it’s a good mix of characters.

Continue reading for the rest of the interview!

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Rachel Bilson Get a Warm Welcome to Their New Home on the CW

Katie Henry — Thu, 19 May 2011 11:41:40 PDT

The CW held its upfronts in NYC today, and the network announced it's adding six shows to its Fall lineup with stars like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Rachel Bilson. The programs include SMG's Ringer, which will air Tuesdays with 90210. Rachel, who shared a hug with costar Jaime King, was all smiles due to the success of her latest Josh Schwartz endeavor, Hart of Dixie. She shuttled between LA and North Carolina to shoot the pilot earlier this year and has lately kept the frequent flying miles coming between jaunts to France to work with Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld. The Vampire Diaries stars Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, and Paul Wesley were all in attendance to receive the news that their popular vampire series has been renewed. 90210 castmates AnnaLynne McCord, Shenae Grimes, and Tristan Wilds were in for similar celebrations. Another of the CW's hits, Gossip Girl, wrapped up this week with a dramatic season finale, though only newcomer Kaylee DeFer was on hand for this morning's press event.

Angelina Jolie Visits Wounded Soldiers Between Glamorous Cannes Appearances

Lauren Turner — Tue, 17 May 2011 15:54:02 PDT

Angelina Jolie touched down at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday. She was there with the USO meeting with wounded soldiers who were getting ready for their flight back to the US. Angelina signed autographs, posed for pictures, and chatted with the troops, who seemed surprised to see her. The philanthropic visit was squeezed between Angelina's glamorous appearances at the Cannes Film Festival, where she promoted Kung Fu Panda 2 with Jack Black. She returned to the South of France for a sweet date night with Brad and was back on the red carpet for his The Tree of Life premiere yesterday. The couple brought their whole family to the French Riviera, though the kids haven't been spotted out since, according to Angelina, they're having so much fun at their hotel.