It’s not every day that multinational corporations really do go the second mile in showing genuine concern for their customers’ psychological welfare. I have always assumed (call me a cynic) that there is some hidden agenda or ugly commercial motive behind any public action. But British Airways appear to have bucked the trend. They genuinely endeavour to take great care over what movies get shown in-flight, and, what’s more, over editing what they do show.
A BA spokesman confirmed that changes had been made to Casino Royale. “All films are screened… we want to ensure they contain no material that might upset our customers.“
Marvelous – all well and good. And i must say that, great fan though I am of Casino Royale (surely the best Bond since the Connery heyday), i was upset by seeing Richard Branson in the movie (see picture below) – not least because i’d seen the new Superman (which i did also enjoy) only a few days before and found that it made me watch Branson supposedly flying a space shuttle. It felt like a case of overegging one man’s media profile.
Now, as one who has had a cameo in a movie (see post of 9 Dec 2006, says he not wanting to overegg any media profiles at all), I am hardly in a position to talk – and to be fair, if given the opportunity to fly a space shuttle in Superman, or even get frisked by a customs official in a Bond movie, i’d jump at the chance. And despite Branson’s penchant for a good media moment, i suspect that BA was taking my sensibilities a little too seriously. It can’t have had anything to do with the fact that Sir Richard is the proud possessor of a rival airline, could it? Oh surely not. Far too cynical. Read the whole story here.
