Commuters call out 'sexist' ad, brand brings on the extreme sarcasm
A Twitter spat has broken out after people called out a mobile spa app for a "sexist" advert on the London Underground.
"Out with the guys 'til 4am again?! Keep her sweet with a spa mani/pedi at home," reads USPAAH's advert, which has been spotted at Tube stations in London.
Pissed off commuters tweeted their thoughts on the ad at USPAAH, but the brand chose to respond to the criticism with a series of extremely sassy replies.
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One commuter accused the brand of "misogyny" on International Women's Day, stating that adverts like these are one of the reasons women were marching and striking.
But USPAAH didn't take too kindly to the criticism, stating: "how very dare one partner in a relationship buy the other gift to say sorry?! Get us to the protest right now!"
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The criticism kept on coming and so too did the sassy replies. One person who said the poster suggested the woman referenced in the ad was "stupid" and could be "bought off" with a gift.
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USPAAH responded with a particularly cheeky tweet, suggesting she thought gift giving and Christmas should be banned too.
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The brand's responses didn't go unnoticed, with some calling the replies "unprofessional and disingenuous".
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The brand did, however, respond to some tweets with a more earnest explanation of the message behind the adverts, stating: "We were thinking that it's a lighthearted anecdote based on our experiences."
Meanwhile, the criticism of the advert continued on Twitter. Some felt the ad was entirely outdated and reminiscent of the 1950s.
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"We are aware that our cheeky campaign which launched last week has caused a bit of a stir on Twitter amongst commuters," a spokesperson for USPAAH explained in an email.
"Rest assured, as a company run entirely by women, working with almost a female only team of beauticians and therapists and serving a predominantly female clientele, we very much understand the needs of modern women," the spokesperson continued.
The spokesperson stated that the campaign draws on "funny anecdotal experiences" of their own lives as "strong independent business leaders, wives, partners and girlfriends".
"For all the negativity we've also received tonnes of positive and supportive messages from many people on how difficult it is to not offend someone in 2017," the spokesperson continued.
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Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
