Subway ads get U.K. website in a spot of trouble
An advertising campaign for online dating website Match.com has people seeing red.
The company is under fire for British subway posters that seem to criticize people with red hair and freckles.
The ads, spotted in London’s Underground, show a close-up photo of hazel eyes set below red bangs and a sprinkle of freckles. “If you don’t like your imperfections, someone else will,” the tag line reads.
Public response was swift on social me- dia, with many calling the ads “bullying.”
Shawn Hitchins, a Toronto-based entertainer and unintentional spokesman for what he calls the “ginger nation” of red-haired people around the world, said the ad comes from a discriminatory attitude in the United Kingdom.
“There is an idea behind treatment of redheads in the UK that is similar to racism. It sounds like a joke, but it’s actually true . . . kids are tormented, a lot of redhead kids dye their hair, there are even stories of young men being stabbed with knives because they’re redheads.”
In 2013 Hitchins organized a “ginger pride march” while doing a show in Edinburgh, Scotland. Wearing a shirt proclaiming “GINGER AND PROUD,” he led a parade of more than 100 red-haired people through the streets.
Growing up, he said, he wasn’t really bullied for being a redhead, but his appearance sometimes made him feel lonely.
“I felt isolated by it,” he said. “I think there was only one other kid with red hair in my school; it was a weird feeling for sure.”
Hitchins said he wasn’t personally offended by the ad, but called it “completely unflattering.”
“There are tons of other people with freckles, everyone has them, so why a redhead?” he asked. “It comes from a perspective that redheads are undesirable.”
A spokesperson for Match.com confirmed that the ad campaign is not running in the United States or Canada, and a spokesperson for Advertising Standards Canada said it has received no complaints about the company.
On Monday, Match.com issued an apology to everyone offended by the ads, saying in a statement to the Guardian newspaper that they were meant to “reveal common perceived imperfections and quirks of Brits — these include freckles,” before adding that people at the company “think freckles are beautiful.”
The next day the company said it was in the process of removing posters as soon as possible.
In a statement to the Guardian, a spokesperson said, “We have taken note of the response about our advert concerning freckles. Following this feedback, we are in discussions with our relevant partners about removing these posters.”
While some online accused those angry at the ads as being in need of a thicker skin, Hitchins said the posters could cause real problems for kids with red hair.
“What they don’t realize is that there are kids in the UK who are going to get their asses kicked because of this ad.”