Hotel ban ‘sexist’ breakfast advert over complaints online

A hotel has banned a "sexist" breakfast advertisement over complaints that it adhered to gender stereotypes.

The ad for Sofitel hotel in Brisbane, Australia pictures a man and a woman enjoying breakfast in bed together. The pair are smiling and laughing while the man reads the Financial Review and the woman looks at a coffee table book featuring Chanel models. An image of the ad was shared on Twitter by journalist Elizabeth Redman who said that while she thought the breakfast looked "delicious," she wanted the hotel to know that she, a woman, also reads the Financial Review. https://twitter.com/elizabethredman/status/1049034184570929154 Sofitel Brisbane responded to Redman's tweet saying that they were sorry for any offence caused. They also added that the ad had been pulled from any future activity. Writing on Twitter, they said:

Hi, we appreciate you voicing your concerns. There was no intention of portraying a stereotype, but we recognise it & apologise for any offence it has caused. The creative has been pulled from any future activity. Feel free to send us a DM if you’d like to discuss further

— Sofitel Brisbane (@SofitelBrisbane) October 8, 2018

While many praised the hotel for banning the ad, others questioned why the image was garnering so much attention online. They argued that while the ad was stereotyping men and women, people's efforts should be focused on "women's rights issues" instead of breakfast adverts. One user, Dr Terry Goldsworthy, said:

"Perhaps your efforts would be better put to meaningful issues like addressing women's rights in the UAE... and improving the response for victims of sexual assault there. "There is more to life then navel gazing."

One user responded to this assertion saying: "I can multitask."