Didn't they learn from their 'girl pen' fiasco?
Uh oh, BiC are at it again with this sexist advert supposedly celebrating Women's Day. It’s not the first incident the company have been blasted for in regards to their sexist behaviour, how can we forget the time they created those ballpoint pens ‘for her’ because our lady hands couldn’t handle their “manlier” versions?
Well this time it’s their South African division that’s in hot water. BiC SA released an advert on Women’s Day with the slogan: “Look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, work like a boss” accompanied by a stock photo of a glamorous, attractive looking businesswoman... obviously. We can’t really get our heads around how, or why, anyone thought this was a good idea, and neither could Twitter by the looks of responses.
In general, people were shocked that a company of that scale could think this was appropriate, and couldn't even begin to comprehend what looking like a girl, acting like a lady or thinking like a man actually was.
“My boss is a woman, but she doesn’t think like a man, or dress like a girl. Should I confiscate her pens?” said one user, whilst another joked that BiC were going to be receiving a ton of free publicity with this mistake. One user stated: "The 70s are calling, and they want their advert back," and by the looks of this old school BiC razor advert, it seems they're right.
Needless to say, it wasn’t long before the post was taken down and BiC South Africa delivered a swift apology:
“Hi everyone. Let’s start out by saying we’re incredibly sorry for offending everybody – that was never our intention, but we completely understand where we’ve gone wrong. This post should never have gone out. The feedback you have given us will help us ensure that something like this will never happen again, and we appreciate that.”
The company claimed that they took the quote from a blog about “women and business” and it was meant to empower women, not belittle them. However even their apology and excuse was met with negative feedback, with many claiming that the company were trying to place the blame on someone else rather than take responsibility.
Oh dear BiC, when are you ever going to learn? Especially with the speed and power of social media, it won’t be long before something like this goes global. It’s safe to say the company can add this onto the list of things to steer clear of again, alongside their ‘girl pens.’ And on that note, let’s take a look back at one of Ellen DeGeneres' most famous sketches featuring their infamous product for girls.