UK supermarket company Sainsbury's has decided to remove a controversial in-store advertisement after it was slammed online for seemingly ignoring women's safety.
In a viral picture, the company had launched an advertisement for a new dress priced at £24 that showed the model wearing the attire.
The picture had the text:
"For walks in the parks or strolls after dark."
The poster sparked a huge backlash online, with users pointing out that women would not wear this dress out at night because of the unsafe environment.
Twitter did not take Sainsbury's new advertisement well
After Sainsbury's new advertisement featuring a dress - which the company implied could be worn for strolls after dark - went viral, Twitterati was left furious.
Several users slammed the company for claiming that women can stroll in the dark when it's dangerous, with one of them pointing out that £24 is instead a good deal to hire a bodyguard.
Others just slammed the company for its misogynistic campaign, with one even writing that it must have been planned out by men in authority.
Sainsbury's spokesperson issued an apology for the new advertisement
While speaking with the Daily Mail, a spokesperson for the company issued an apology for the new advertisement which they worked on with ad agency Ogilvy.
"We're sorry that due to the design, some customers found this sign to be inappropriate and are working to remove these from the store. We'll work hard with our agency partner to ensure this doesn't happen again."
The controversial advertisement comes after several women have been murdered or assaulted while walking in the dark.
The most recent UK incident happened in September 2021, when a 28-year-old primary school teacher, Sabina Nessa, was walking through a park to meet a friend when a 36-year-old person hit her in the head 34 times with a metal traffic triangle. He was imprisoned in April 2022.
Sainsbury's is not the only brand that has been forced to axe its advertisement.
In November 2022, Waitrose was slammed for showing two farmers flaunting their sun tans, and ultimately had to remove the ad and apologize to the public.
The ad was slammed by skin cancer patients and charities who called it a "kick in the teeth" for "glorifying tans."
In February 2022, fashion company Boohoo was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority after they received complaints that it was objectifying and s*xualizing women.
On its website, a model could be seen wearing a top with bikini bottoms and trainers. One of them even showed a model kneeling down inappropriately.
The ASA banned the ad after people complained that it was offensive and objectified women.