They called it “misguided”.
A toothbrush subscription company has apologised after one of their advertisements targeted at incoming university students was labeled “sexual harassment”.
The advertisement for BrushBox was found in the University of Sussex’s Dig-In welcome box for freshers. On one side, it had a photo of a woman with toothpaste dribbling from her mouth.
On the other side of the beer mat, it said:
“Whether you spit or swallow as part of your (twice…) daily oral regimen, place your oral health on autopilot with Brushbox”.
The photo was originally shared on Mumsnet, before being shared widely on other social media platforms. Many people began to call out the company’s ad as “sexist, demeaning, offensive” and “sexual harassment”.
https://twitter.com/untamableshrews/status/1042623290437595136
https://twitter.com/LaurieButtons/status/1042746025537093632
How very disappointing @SussexUni. We do not raise strong, articulate young women for them to be treated this way. Nor do we educate our thoughtful young men to tolerate it this behaviour towards their cohort.
— ISL Surrey Primary (@ISLSurrey) September 20, 2018
BrushBox issued a statement to the Huffington Post, where they apologised for the “misguided” campaign.
Acknowledging that the beer mat was “derogatory to women”, they said:
“We’re are really sorry if anyone has been offended by the promotional image used in the Dig-In boxes. We now realise it was inappropriate and misguided of us to use this type of image as a way to raise awareness of dental health issues.
“We completely understand that the image could be deemed as derogatory to women and for that we are truly sorry – this was never our intention, and we take full responsibility for any upset it has caused.
“BrushBox is a company which prides itself on its family and ethical ethos and we are very disappointed that something which was meant to encourage good health habits amongst students has caused any offence.”
The University of Sussex’s Students Union issued a statement on social media about how they do “not support or condone the inappropriate material” that was found in the box.
Our statement regarding the promotional material contained with-in our Dig-in boxes this year. pic.twitter.com/VLm0m72aHV
— University of Sussex Students' Union (@USSU) September 21, 2018
It began:
” The Students’ Union at Sussex does not support or condone the inappropriate material distributed on behalf of Brushboxes which was found in the Dig-In Boxes delivered to all Freshers this year.
“Our Students’ Union promotes equality and providing a safe and inclusive environment for all, and we are let-down by the events that have occurred.
“Dig-In Boxes delivers boxes to over 130 Universities across the UK and Sussex Students’ Union is one of many Unions who received this inappropriate artwork.”
They clarified that the Dig-In Boxes were not something that the Students’ Union received income for.
The statement continued:
“There was evidently an oversight from both Dig-In and ourselves. Dig-In did not follow procedure and checks and the Union wrongly trusted the content of the boxes as we have given clear outlines and guidelines on our ethical stances and what we expected.
“We have been in contact with Dig-In and we have been assured that this promotional material will no longer be included in their boxes and the mechanisms are put in place so that this cannot occur again in the future.”
