TORONTO – The ubiquitous company Bic, well-known for manufacturing ballpoint pens, has apologized for a slogan that asked women to “act like a lady” and “think like a man” in an advertising campaign to coincide with National Women’s Day in South Africa.
The ad quickly drew the ire of thousands on social media around the world, leading to an apology from the French company on Tuesday.
“We’re incredibly sorry for offending everybody — that was never our intention, but we completely understand where we’ve gone wrong,” Bic posted on its South Africa Facebook page Tuesday.
“This post should never have gone out. The feedback you have given us will help us ensure that something like this will never happen again, and we appreciate that.”
The apology comes two days after the ad was originally published. Bic had initially defended advertisement that shows a smiling woman in a business suit, beside the slogan: “Look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, act like a boss.” The hashtag #HappyWomensDay appears next to the Bic logo at the bottom of the image.
Bic had defended itself in an earlier statement saying it was taken from a “women in business” blog, and was meant “in the most empowering way possible and in no way derogatory towards women.”
Among those who took exception to the ad was British activist Caroline Criado-Perez who tweeted “What fresh hell is this?” Monday morning. Criado-Perez had previously campaigned successfully to get more female faces on UK banknotes, resulting in the Jane Austen £10 note that will appear in 2017.
Other commentators pointed out that this was not Bic’s first foray into sexist advertising. Their pink “for her” pens in 2012 “designed to fit comfortably in a woman’s hand” were mocked by several people including comedian Ellen Degeneres.
South Africa’s National Women’s Day commemorates the march by 20,000 women on Aug. 9, 1956, to petition against the apartheid regime’s racist pass-carrying laws for black women.
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