Angry shoppers slam IKEA for sexist ad
Angry shoppers have slammed IKEA after a sexist detail was found in an advertisement in the Swedish retailer’s new furniture catalogue.
Web designer Alex Baxevanis was stunned when he was flicking through the furniture outlet’s new catalogue when he discovered an ad for a suction cup toothbrush holder, which boasted customers could “leave your drill in your man drawer”.
Leave your drill in your "man drawer" @IKEAUK ? Really? I keep my lady drill elsewhere. No really I mean an ACTUAL drill #sexism #IKEA pic.twitter.com/vRiDcKzCdr
— Carli (@lashandhitch) August 13, 2017
"It sounds like something out of the 1950s making a reference to a 'man drawer',” said Baxevanis.
"It struck me as ridiculous, my drill doesn't live in a 'man drawer' it's used equally by me and my wife.
"Ania's not afraid to pick up a drill and do things within the house. If anything she's more creative than me when it comes to that sort of thing.
"I expect better from IKEA. They generally champion environmental and other worthy issues and then they print this – this particular wording looks really out of whack.”
Baxevanis’ wife Ania Mendrek agreed, and the couple got into contact with IKEA requesting the online version of the advertisement be amended immediately.
"I think it's a case of everyday sexism, at the very least it's left open to interpretation,” she said.
"A 'man drawer' may well be a colloquial term, but there are lots of phrases that are colloquial that we are appalled to use – should we keep them because they are colloquial regardless of their being sexist?"
A spokesperson for IKEA responded, saying it was never their intention to offend with the ad.
"At IKEA we believe strongly in equality and that people should be treated equally regardless of their age, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, marital or family status, or any other dimension of their identity,” said Country Marketing Manager, Laurent Tiersen.
"We can confirm that in our 2018 catalogue we use the phrase 'leave your drill in your man drawer' to explain that drilling isn't necessary with our STUGVIK storage containers with suction cups.
"In using this phrase, we are drawing on the common colloquial term 'man drawer' as a place where tools may be kept.
"It is never our intention to offend anyone with our marketing material, however we understand how this could be interpreted and will of course take this input as feedback for future material."
What are your thoughts?