Bic pens two apologies for sexist blunder when promoting National Women’s Day
Bic Ad: This is the second sexist-related blunder the firm has made
The firm created a poster (above) advertising its pens – but somehow the line “think like a man” failed to raise alarm bells in the marketing department.
Social media users flocked to Twitter to condemn the advert, and many gave the ad a makeover thanks to the power of Photoshop. (See #happywomensday )
Bic compounded the error when it attempted to explain that the advert was “empowering to women” and that the quote used was from a “Woman in Business blog”.
The first apology was deleted and another has replaced it on the Facebook page.
Many are asking how this mistake was allowed to happen, citing Bic’s 2012 blunder when it released “pink pens for her”. These were designed to fit “comfortably in a woman’s hand” and are still on sale, accompanied by some comic Amazon product reviews.
Source: PR Week
Category: Industry News
