Virgin Atlantic—a division of Virgin Group working in the airline industry—announced that it would be expanding its services into Scotland earlier this year. After suffering losses of up to £135 last year, Virgin Atlantic has taken advantage of the closing of former airline British Midlands to expand its borders and reach further into the airline market in order to directly compete with its top opponent: British Airways.
As the president of Virgin Atlantic, it’s only fitting that Sir Richard Branson would be involved in the first flight from Great Britain to Scotland aboard a Virgin plane. What may or may not be fitting, is what the president of Virgin Atlantic did after arriving. Sir Richard Branson dressed up for the event in more ways than one—he wore a bright red kilt, and under it underwear. Why is Branson’s underwear so important? Because of the message printed on it: “Stiff Competition.”
Sir Richard Branson is known for his extravagant PR stunts, so to say the public was expecting something out of the norm would be appropriate, but does this cross the line? Does Branson have no ethics when it comes to his role in Virgin Atlantic’s marketing and publicity stunts?
In order to answer these questions, one more question must be asked: would a university student be writing a blog about Branson’s flight from Great Britain to Scotland if it weren’t for this underwear affair? Not this student. President Branson saw an opportunity to catch the attention of the media and penetrate Virgin Atlantic’s market deeper than a catchy jingle on the radio or flashy ad on TV ever would.
While there are boundaries in the business world that should not be crossed, this is not one of those cases as Branson brought attention to Virgin Atlantic while still maintaining a respectable grasp on business ethics.