Does this mug slogan REALLY encourage domestic violence?
A MUG featuring a quote from a Roald Dahl story has been taken off the shelves at a supermarket chain after campaigners said it encouraged domestic violence.
The phrase, ‘A brilliant idea hit her’ was written on the side of the £5.50 (€6.10) cups that were sold in UK store Sainsbury’s.
But the items have now been removed following a backlash, with critics claiming the slogan can be read ‘two ways’.
The phrase is adapted from a quote in the children’s author’s 1988 book Matilda.
The passage refers to Matilda’s friend Lavender who has the idea of putting a newt in headmistress Miss Trunchbull’s water jug. The full excerpt reads: ‘When at last the germ of a brilliant idea hit her, she began to expand on it and lay her plans with the same kind of care the Duke of Wellington had done before the Battle of Waterloo.’
But some said the way the quote was used and designed on the mug meant it could be mistakenly read as encouraging people to hit women. Luis Labaton, of domestic abuse charity Domestic Violence Assist, said: ‘Sainsbury’s has shown a lack of empathy for domestic violence victims by displaying these mugs. It shows just how far from reality they are.’
Ruth Mason, from the charity Women’s Aid, expressed dismay at the ‘ambiguous’ slogan.
However, others disagreed with the activists’ complaints.
Emma Webb, the director of the Institute for the Study of Civil Society, Civitas, said: ‘I hope Sainsbury’s is capable of resisting idiocy. “A brilliant idea hit her” is not “a brilliant idea: Hit her”. Who is going to read a mug and find in it permission to hit their wife?’
A spokesman for Sainsbury’s said: ‘We are apologising to customers for any upset this may have caused and working with the Roald Dahl team to remove the mug from sale while the design is reviewed.’