This advertisement from Spirit Airlines has been rejected by the

Colombia government.

Colombia Rejects U.S. Airline’s Secret Service 'Sex' Ad (El Tiempo, Colombia)

“This kind of subliminal advertising is, to say the least, inappropriate and improper, and should be immediately withdrawn from the U.S. airline’s Web site.”

-- Sergio Diaz-Granados, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism

Translated By Marisol Plata Fortiz

April 19, 2012

Colombia - El Tiempo - Original Article (Spanish)

A U.S. airline launched an advertising campaign depicting four women surrounding an agent.

The advertisement was released by low-cost U.S. carrier Spirit Airlines, which makes reference to the scandal involving Secret Service agents with President Barack Obama and prostitutes in Cartagena. The ad invites people to visit Cartagena to obtain sex.

In the foreground, the ad shows a man wearing an earphone in dark glasses (similar to those worn by Secret Service agents) putting a finger over his lips in a gesture of silence, with four women behind him wearing pink swimsuits. On its Web site, the airline advertises flights from Fort Lauderdale to La Heroica (Cartagena).

The campaign features the slogan, "More Bang for Your Buck.” In English, the word “bang” is used to refer to sex, which implies that the ad is promoting the idea of “more sex for your money.”

The Colombian federal government has already reacted to the issue. On its Web site, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism noted that the person in charge of that portfolia, Sergio Diaz-Granados, has discussed the matter with Spirit’s North American director, Manuel Jaquez.

According to Diaz-Granados, "This kind of subliminal advertising is, to say the least, inappropriate and improper, and should be immediately withdrawn from the U.S. airline’s Web site.

Meanwhile, the Colombian Association of Travel and Tourism (ANATO) has reported that the airline promotes tours to Cartagena for the purposes of obtaining sex.

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In a press release, ANATO categorically rejects what has occurred: "Such advertising not only opportunistically takes advantage of events involving Secret Service agents on President Barack Obama’s staff in Cartagena, which occurred before the Sixth Summit of the Americas, but it directly damages the destination and investors who believed in holding the Cartagena summit.

Posted by Worldmeets.US

ANATO warns that sex tourism is one of the sector’s negative practices that travel agencies have been working against since 2009 by mounting joint campaigns with the federal government.

"It is unacceptable for a North American airline to encourage such practices to boost the number of travelers," says ANATO President Paula Cortez Street.

Finally, ANATO publicly demanded that the airline conduct itself in accordance with good business practices and regretted that management permitted a campaign with such a negative impact on the city’s image.