Black Friday has been known to make consumers go a bit crazy: from pushing to trampling on people to get an item they want. But it turns out it also brings out the worst in retail brands. Online fashion retailer SuperGurl, which is based in Singapore, has come under scrutiny after their Black Friday sale homepage used the phrase 'Rape Us Now' to encourage users to shop at their store. The phrase was accompanied by a picture of a young woman in a suggestive pose.
Many were quick to criticise the advert on social media, with users calling the advert ‘inappropriate’ and ‘absolutely vile’.
Since then, SuperGurl’s creative director, Jordus Lim, has posted an apology on their website and Facebook page. He claims the brand ‘did not mean it to be offensive to anyone’ and that he had failed to review the work of the Graphic Designer before approving the image. He agreed that the company had ‘made a mistake’.
‘The team at SuperGurl will definitely be more careful with what we will put up in the future as this is also a lesson learnt for us,’ he said.
Whether it was the work of one rogue designer or an actual attempt to drive sales, they're not the only ones. Last month, American Apparel was criticised for asking employees to wear shirts that read 'Ask Me To Take It All Off', while Bloomingdale'sissued an apology for their Christmas 'date rape' advetisement, with the caption: 'Spike your best friend’s eggnog when they’re not looking’.
When will fashion brands (or any brands for that matter) get the message that rape is not an acceptable advertising tool?
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.