On April 16, Singapore Airlines said that it has hired advertising agency TBWA to handle its creative account, replacing the firm which came up with the 35-year-old "Singapore Girl" image.

US-based TBWA - which already manages global clients such as Absolut Vodka, Adidas and Apple in certain countries - beat DDB and Publicis for the lucrative account, which a person familiar with the matter said is worth more than S$50 million (US$33 million).

Batey Ads, which had held the contract since the airline was formed in 1972, was not shortlisted.

Singapore Air said in a statement that it remained committed to its underlying branding, emphasised by the Singapore Girl, but did not give further details or say whether its famous icon - a feature of one of the world's longest-running advertising campaigns - would undergo any changes.

The airline, the world's biggest by stock market value, said in January that it would review its advertising, prompting a lively debate in the Singapore media and in industry circles about whether the Singapore Girl image needed to be updated.

Despite her success, some critics complained that the Singapore Girl - always depicted as a young, slim Asian woman clad in a tight sarong kebaya uniform - was passe and largely intended to appeal to male passengers' fantasies of desirable, subservient Oriental women.

More recently, Singapore Airlines campaigns have tended to include other aspects of the airline's service such as its ultra-modern planes, updated seats or inflight food, as well as the Singapore Girl.