Last week one of our supporters, Rachel, contacted us regarding Perth-based coffee company Fresh One’s Facebook page, full of sexist and porn-inspired advertising material.
Click here to view images (Warning, graphic content)
Fresh One’s ads included sexually objectifying images of women’s bodies alongside demeaning slogans, as well as images of simulated sex acts. The ‘About’ section on their Facebook page reads:
Grind me, bathe me in hot steamy water, moisten me with cream if you must. Have it your way, any way, a mouthful of my beans will leave you in ecstasy.
Hundreds of Facebook users posted their objections to the objectifying and degrading content, arguing that such blatant sexism was alienating women as well as men who respect women, and threatening to boycott. Over the course of the week, Fresh One’s star rating went from five stars to one and a half stars, after which Fresh One disabled the review application.
Fresh One responded to complaints last night with this post, alongside a BDSM inspired picture of a dominatrix. You can see their email response to Verina here.
“Aside from a desire to stand out from competitive providers, we believe that coffee culture goes far deeper. The Fresh One is about an approach to life, its about living to 100%, challenging the status quo! It is important to note that it has not been at any time nor will be in the future the intention of Fresh One to degrade, sexualize or objectify any person, gender or cultural group…. Whilst we can appreciate a person’s right to express their ultra conservative views we vehemently defend our right to promote our brand in the evocative and gregarious way we do.” (Bold added.)
One commenter responded:
“[Fresh One] seem to be under the impression that reducing women to objects for men’s use is new and edgy, “challenging the status quo”.
Criticism of Fresh One’s outdated and misogynistic advertising is not “ultra-conservative”. It’s progressive. If Fresh One believes using sexually objectifying and porn-inspired images of women’s bodies to sell coffee is acceptable in this day and age, they are ultra-conservative.
Fresh One, is your product so poor that misogyny was the only way you could think of to divert attention from it?”
Fresh One responded further by deleting comments and banning users who had made complaints.
Contact Fresh One via email, facebook or twitter to give them feedback.
Make an official complaint to the Advertising Standards Bureau.
As published on Collective Shout.
See also: ‘Fresh One: A case study in how to screw up your brand’
5 Responses
Unfortunately their facebook page is still there with all the foul pics. You’d have to imagine their coffee was even more foul. But I’ll never know as I will NEVER buy it.
It’s incredible that there are people out there thinking that portraying women this way is a challenge to the status quo or anything new and daring. Seriously, are these people dumb? Unless they think we’re dumb? Anyone capable of thinking knows that this is same od tired sexism. For things to change, women HAVE to boycott any company that advertise this way. It’s the only way that it can stop, by having half the population buying their coffee elsewhere, they would not survive in this competitive market.
Dear Melinda,
You are a shining star. Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou
There are some serious spin doctoring happening here! Fresh One hope to paint themselves as the liberated, broad minded choice for grown ups who can make up their own mind, like they are offering a public service! The fact is, they are a commercial enterprise trying to get the attention of Tom, Dick and Harry, (not Tina, Donna and Helen ).
Never mind the sexual innuendo, trying to dress a grab for market share up as some kind of human rights issue is a little silly!
It’s amazing how openly misogynist Australia is and how anyone can even defend this type of trashy, disgusting way of marketing something as trivial as coffee. The fact that they are even deleted complaints now speaks volumes; they know they are wrong. Its only a matter of time before there is a petition to boycott the company.