Advertising, ad campaigns, ad agencies, and the people that make it happen

If you’ve seen the new James Bond film, Casino Royale, at either the cinema or on DVD, you may remember a very short cameo appearance of Virgin Airlines Big Cheese Richard Branson passing through a security arch at Miami airport. But if you should happen to see it again on a British Airways flight, you may catch the fact that this scene is "somehow missing" from the in-flight version. Apparently having the gazillionaire egomaniac, for even a second or so, proved too much for BA's in-flight entertainment team, which "vets films on the grounds of taste and suitability before allowing them to be shown", so he ended up on the cutting room floor. A BA spokesman explained: "All films are screened...we want to ensure they contain no material that might upset our customers." In other words being reminded that you can get better service for less money on a rival airline might make BA passengers choke on their in-flight meal… What in-flight meal?