Celebrating women's day by promoting, perpetuating and celebrating gender roles. If irony would had a definition, this should be it... is what a twitter user wrote on social media for Flipkart's marketing misfire promoting kitchen appliances on International Women's Day.
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On Tuesday Flipkart shared an idea to promote kitchen appliances on women's day. The message read, "Dear Customer, This Women's Day, let's celebrate You. Get Kitchen Appliances from ₹299".
The brand messaging invited criticism on social media with several users saying the brand's communication was sexist and that it was reinforcing stereotypes.
As backlash around the Women's Day message grew, Flipkart tweeted an apology today saying that "We messed up and we are sorry," the e-commerce company wrote on Twitter. "We did not intend to hurt anyone's sentiments and apologise for the Women's Day message shared earlier," it added.
‘WOMEN BELONG IN THE KITCHEN’
This is not the first time that a brand is being called out for a "sexist" Women's Day message.
Last year, Burger King decided that the best way to mark International Women’s Day would be to tweet: “Women belong in the kitchen.” Of course, the fast food giant did follow up with several other tweets, saying, “If they want to, of course”, and announcing a scholarship scheme that aimed to rebalance the gender ratio in the restaurant industry.
After deciding to delete the original tweet, Burger King published the usual social media apology: “We hear you. We got our initial tweet wrong and we’re sorry.” A year later, though, Twitter still hasn’t forgotten the company that set the bar for offensive IWD posts.