I’m sitting at the airport in Vienna waiting for a flight and am actually enjoying the commercial for Austrian Airlines that keeps flashing across the screen.
It’s informing us that Austrian is the official airline of the Austrian national football / soccer team and shows members of the men’s national team kicking a soccer ball around a hangar and a pilot joining in. Then a red shoe, a pump, stops the ball. The camera pans up to show the owner of the shoe — a middle-aged(!) female flight attendant — who winks at the men and then kicks the ball through the open door of a plane. Tor! High fives all around.
For me, this is typical of state-owned (or, more accurately, formerly state-owned) companies in Austria. Diversity, yes, but with a light touch. Which is a good way to get past people’s defenses.
In any case, as a middle-aged woman who played soccer competitively for her school for six years, it was really enjoyable.
ecbinvienna 