Ryan Reynolds has become one of the biggest movie stars in the world, starring in films of all genres, and is an idol for both men and women. That’s probably why a lingerie company called Harper Wilde decided to use the actor’s name to sell items from their bra line. The ad campaign ended up upsetting many, forcing the company to pull the ad and issue an apology and explanation for the decision to use the actor’s name.
Harper Wilde wanted to draw customers to her lingerie line by running an ad that colorfully represented the feel of her bras. To do so, they used Reynolds’ name in one of the ad descriptions, but the post didn’t receive the clear response the company intended, resulting in backlash from many netizens, according to Entrepreneur. You can see a screenshot of the announcement in question below:
???? pic.twitter.com/uILFuFNOwWJanuary 27, 2023
It was chilling to those who saw the ad, with many saying it was an extremely misplaced attempt to attract women. Others have argued that this type of campaign likely originated with a man trying to target women, but Harper Wilde has responded to this criticism as follows: Tweeter:
Our team is 99% female and we absolutely DO NOT approve of creepy non-consensual attacks of any kind, not even in the hypothetical figurative sense of bra overhaul. We are so sorry this has scared anyone! This was not our intention at all and we have removed the ad.
First, to explain the announcement, the company explained that Ryan Reynolds’ quote was actually a quote from a customer’s opinion about the bra. Harper Wilde’s marketing department felt the quote was “saucy” enough to stand on its own, but regrets not being clearer where the comment came from. The company explained more in a peek said:
This is a genuine review from a genuine customer, originally intended to be published alongside a number of other reviews; we thought it was cheeky enough to post as an ad, but the ad interface cut off the attribution (original attached!)
Harper Wilde also clarified that the original quote from which the commercial was taken was actually about Ryan Gosling and not Ryan Reynolds, a confusion that many have made. However, this appeared to be intentional as Harper Wilde felt her clientele would be more attracted to the dead Pool star, a decision they realized was a faux pas. His Chirping further explanation read:
You are correct that a significant portion of our customer population is the millennial fan of Ryan Reynolds. Sorry if this unexpectedly teleported you to 2017. 😭
While this ad failed, that doesn’t mean that all Ryan Reynolds-centric advertising campaigns fail. The actor was hilariously the voice of Grimace for a McDonald’s commercial last year. He’s even done a funny TV commercial for the Westminster Dog Show. Perhaps Harper Wilde would have had a successful ad if Reynolds had published it first. I’m sure she’d have a fun way to get the word out about her.
Even if you won’t see the dead Pool in a lingerie commercial, you can see Reynolds alongside Will Ferrell in his latest film, Energetic, which is now streaming to AppleTV+ subscribers. For more information on other projects coming to streams in the near future, be sure to check out 24 News Bulletin’s winter telecast schedule.
Source: Cinemablend
