IKEA Slammed by Transgender Group for New Ad
An Ikea ad depicting a woman, who accidentally takes on a man's tone when getting excited over a pillow, has caused outrage.
A woman is idly shopping arm in arm with her boyfriend in an Ikea store when the couple comes across a pillow they both seem to like. The woman gets excited,but when she opens her mouth what comes out is a man's tone instead of a woman's. The boyfriend turns to the woman shocked and steps away. The woman covers her mouth before collecting herself and returning to a feminine tone.
The ad has been titled "Luem Aeb" in Thai. In English it means "Forget to Keep Hidden." But some people find the ad to be disrespectful. It is "negative and stereotypical" a Thai transgender group wrote in a letter obtained by Reuters.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The ad was first run by Ikea, an international home products company that has made a name for itself by selling easy to assemble furniture at a low cost, in December and January. The Thai Transgender Alliance has since, demanded an explanation from the furniture company.
A transgender lifestyle is commonplace in many parts of Thailand, where the country's culture is heavily rooted in Buddhism and the values of tolerance. As a possible result transgender men, also sometimes called lady-boys, are more accepted there in comparison to other countries. But they are still regarded as a "third sex" even though most identify themselves as being either male or female.
The Alliance complained about the ad to Ikea on January 9th. The company has since talked with the group and promised a formal response.
"IKEA has spoken to the group over the telephone and the conversation went very smoothly. We are now drafting a letter in response," an company official who did not wish to be identified, told Reuters.
Others argued that the group was being "oversensitive" and that the ad appeared to have no specific target.
