The campaign was to feature ads showcasing the personalities of the airline's crew, highlighting employees via photos of those workers in casual poses along with bios, according to the BBC.
The South China Morning Post notes "the previous phase of the campaign made mini-celebrities of attractive flight attendants whose images were used in TV ads, publications and billboards worldwide."
But that was before the scandal broke.
The New York Times describes the brouhaha that's since embroiled the airline, writing "titillating photographs showing two crew members, widely reported to be a pilot and a flight attendant, in decidedly compromising positions appeared in the Hong Kong news media this month."
Indeed, the not-safe-for-work-photos show a woman who appears to be a flight attendant in midst of cockpit tryst with a man said to be a pilot for the Hong Kong-based airline, which enjoys a reputation for high service standards.
The photos have become a hot story among Chinese media. The images surfaced after they were allegedly stolen from the presumed pilot's laptop.
Regardless of how the photos got to the media, they appear to have put on hold the second phase of Cathay Pacific's "People and Service" campaign, which had been set to debut in September.
Reuters says the campaign's slogan was to be: "Meet the team who go the extra mile to make you feel special."
AdAge writes that "advertising tagline now appears unfortunate in light of the photos, published in Chinese-language newspapers and then widely circulated online last week."
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