Designed by Fifty Fifty Concepts and
supplied by Independent Suppliers, Betsy is described as the ‘Sexy bikini babe ultimate bottle opener’. She is ‘hilarious’.
Why is this bottle opener sexy, hilarious and the ultimate in bottle openers?
Because it works by inserting the bottle into Betsy’s backside and screwing off the lid. The suggestion is that you are screwing her with your bottle. Hilarious yes?
Usually you see this kind of crap product in el chepo novelty stores full of Chinese-made plastic.
But that’s where our hilarious beach babe, who can’t wait to be anally assaulted with a bottle, is different.
Betsy is sold through “Australia’s largest department store group and a leader in Australian retailing”.
My store Myer. Not anymore.
If you don’t think this is the sort of product Myer should be adding its good name to, let them know. You can find a feedback form here.
Or drop the Board of Directors a note. They’re listed here.
Harvey Norman has demonstrated that if you do the right thing and rectify stuff-ups, you can attract consumer commendation and positive media. Here’s some of it.
Tweets kills Harvey Norman ‘Santa lapdance’ ad
IT took a series of critical tweets for Harvey Norman to realise that a radio ad which asked customers if they wanted to “give Santa a lap dance” might not be the best idea.
Harvey Norman’s radio ad for its Christmas family portraits special first aired on Sydney’s Nova 969 station on Saturday with the question: “Do you want to give Santa a lap dance?”
The ads were pulled four hours after feminist author Melinda Tankard Reist wrote a series of tweets criticising the radio promotions.
She said the ad was offensive because it objectified the women it was directed at and implied they would happily perform sexual favours for Santa Claus.
“We’re seeing sexualised messaging at every level of popular culture – even an ad about family photos for children has to involve sexual connotations, it’s a combination that’s all wrong.”
…”What I hope is that corporations particularly those that ignore us now realise there is a benefit to responding to customer complaints because if we work with them we can minimise the damage,” she said.
Read more here.
Harvey Norman avoids PR disaster, pulls offensive radio ad after four hours
…The entire Harvey Norman exchange is documented on activist Melinda Reist’s blog. Reist says she was sent a Facebook alert about the Harvey Norman advertisement, which reportedly promoted the ability to have in-store photos with Santa but used the line “Do you want to give Santa a lap dance?”
Immediately, Reist sent out some tweets about the incident calling for a boycott. Soon after, several other Twitter users joined in the chorus until the official Harvey Norman Twitter account stepped into the fray.
Soon after, Harvey Norman social media head Gary Wheelhouse sent Reist an email, stating that he would “absolutely make sure this goes to the right people”. Forty-five minutes later, the company confirmed the radio ad had been pulled – about four hours after Reist sent her first tweet.
“I was surprised,” she says. “I’ve never seen a corporation respond to quickly. It was the fastest response I’ve ever seen, particularly for a Sunday afternoon.”
“I think they recognised the need to address the issue quickly, especially as people were threatening to stop purchasing, and with Christmas being their busiest period, the timing wasn’t good for them.”
Reist says the incident is a good example of how businesses can use social media to quash scandals before they cost sales.
“Harvey Norman is engaging in social media, and not all companies are doing that yet. The medium makes everything so much more instant, and it’s a great tool for people like myself…
“We’d love to see other companies move just as quickly.”
Read full story here.
The message is clear: if you’re a company engaging in inappropriate, objectified and sexualised advertising, you will be targeted. You will find yourself on Collective Shout’s Cross ‘Em Off Your Christmas List campaign. See: Don’t give sexploitation companies your Xmas dollar. Myer, you’ll find your name on this list today.
8 Responses
What the hell is going on with these companies…..it just makes me so angry to think a product like the bottle opener gets onto the shelves. I’ve sent off a complaint form via the feedback form and have also got a list of the Board of Management so plan to make some phone calls tomorrow and see what the response is. I urge everyone who has read MTR’s article to contact Myer.
Have just been contacted by the merchandising dept at Myer. According to manager Ben this product was not the product they ordered so it was a mistake. They ordered 800 of them and Myer is actively recalling the product. Myer realises how offensive the product is. Having said that, it is unfortunate that over 400 of the products have already been sold which has totally surprised the store….it’s been a big seller!!!! As Ben said, the store has been shocked that people are buying such an offensive product. I’ve been told they are recalling what’s left so if anyone sees the product at Myer they should let MTR know. How the hell no-one picked up on the crassness of the product before it hit the shelves beggars belief.
Great news Jacqui!! Although I would like to ask Ben if it is standard Myer practice to sell mistakenly delivered stock? When you think about that process, an awful lot of decisions had to be made in order for 400 bottle openers to be sold – first, the warehouse manager didn’t bring to anyone’s attention that these products hadn’t been ordered, or attempt to return them. Then, somebody entered them into the system – they got bar codes, price tags, etc. Then, a visual merchandiser made sure there was space for them on the shelves. And a few hundred sales assistants didn’t say anything about any of it. That’s one shaky system for a major retailer!!
Here is the letter I wrote to Myer
Dear Myer,
I write to you regarding Betsy the Bottle Opener, an item for sale in your stores.
This bottle opener is in the shape of a bikini-wearing woman, into whose bottom bottles are inserted for opening. The imagery is unavoidable: a busty plastic beach babe who exists for nothing other than anal penetration. According to the box it’s ‘hilarious’ – according to experts, it’s yet another example of the exploitation and subjugation of the female body to turn a profit. Nothing ‘hilarious’ about that.
Myer, as long as this item is stocked in your stores, I will consider you to be complicit in ‘sexploitation’, a reprehensible business practice totally undeserving of my custom. Many others think the same – in fact, you have been added to the list of companies on the Collective Shout Christmas boycott list (http://collectiveshout.org/2010/11/dont-give-sexploitation-companies-your-dollar/).
But it’s not too late. Other companies have taken action when there attention has been called to their participation in irresponsible or exploitative practices – you can too. Publicly ditching Betsy the Bottle Opener and committing not to sell similar items will earn you back not only the custom of myself and many like me, but will build a positive public image of the like that can’t be bought (as Harvey Norman recently experienced http://melindatankardreist.com/2010/11/in-which-harvey-norman-was-persuaded-that-ad-combining-santa-lap-dancing-and-family-photos-probably-wasn’t-a-great-idea/).
I’m heading in to do my Christmas shopping on Thursday. Will Myer be my store? I’ll leave it up to you.
Sincerely
Nicole J
Great letter Nicole. And you are so right about the fact that such an offensive item “slipped” through the merchandising chain and made it to the consumer. Shame on Myer.
SERIOUSLY….Picture that item as a man in a g-string with the *cods* cheekily poking out like the bikini top on Betsy>>>and the opener in the butt of a MAN figure…haha..gotta laugh at those attempts at the DOUBLE STANDARDS..ISNT it fortunate that WOMEN do not have the propensity to turn men into *second class citizens sex objects* to be derided at every opportunity by some…can YOU imagine??? GO MTR and Collective Shout..this isn’t just women’s rights it is HUMAN RIGHTS…to be respected and protected….JUST LOVE your work! <3
My Porn Myer !
The fact that no one in the Myer chain was concerned enough to put a stop to such merchandise being sold shows how endemic the exploitation and objectification of women is.
Duh …what problem???
A mistake? Unlikely! But certainly an alert for Myer to discuss company protocol and train their buyers in choices that are in line with the My Store Myer brand!
Myer has (quite quickly) responded to my letter above. None of the excuses about mistaken orders, but a pleasant email with an apology and assurance that they’re taking Betsy off the shelves:
Dear Mrs J:
Thank you for writing to us regarding the novelty bottle opener available from Myer. We appreciate the time you have taken to share your concerns. At Myer we value customer feedback as it helps us improve both the services and products that we offer our customers.
We wish to assure you that it was not our intention to offend anyone by offering this item for sale in our stores. We are pleased to advise that Myer is currently taking steps to withdraw this item from sale.
Once again, thank you for contacting us and giving us the opportunity to respond to you.
Yours sincerely
Carolyn White | Customer Service Centre Representative
MYER
Received about 24 hours after my complaint:
Thank you for writing to us regarding the novelty bottle opener available from Myer. We appreciate the time you have taken to share your concerns. At Myer we value customer feedback as it helps us improve both the services and products that we offer our customers.
We wish to assure you that it was not our intention to offend anyone by offering this item for sale in our stores. We are pleased to advise that Myer is currently taking steps to withdraw this item from sale.
Once again, thank you for contacting us and giving us the opportunity to respond to you.
Yours sincerely
Carolyn White | Customer Service Centre Representative
MYER
Level 10, 800 Collins Street, Docklands Melbourne VIC 3008