Hello sexism, cry feminists
IT IS almost 25 years since Wonderbra stopped traffic with its controversial “Hello Boys” billboards, featuring supermodel Eva Herzigova.
And on the eve of its latest ad campaign, Wonderbra is still causing a stir.
The old slogan is being replaced by “Hello me!”, aimed at “female self-empowerment”.
The posters, which will launch tomorrow in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Birmingham, promise to “empower women to express their individuality with confidence in themselves.” Wonderbra bosses also insist: “We learnt a lot from Hello Boys.”
However feminists say the campaign is a case of “cynical branding” and “same nonsense, different era”.
Feminist activist Julie Bindel, co-founder of legal reform group Justice For Women, hit out at the firm, claiming women will not be tricked into considering the posters empowering.
Ms Bindel said: “Wonderbra’s ‘Hello Boys’ advert, the scourge of the feminist movement throughout the mid-1990s, was so sexist it was almost a parody. We are being fed the guff that the new slogan is less about appealing to sleazy men and more about targeting ‘empowered, liberated women’. This, we are told, is about women wishing to feel sexy ‘for themselves’. If you ask me, [this] is the same nonsense, different era.”
However, Wonderbra says it celebrates women rather than objectifies them and that it helps them to feel sexy on their own terms.
Senior product manager Olivia Capallera said: “The campaign celebrates an era of empowered women, women who decide by themselves and for themselves, women who derive their sexuality from inner confidence.”
Heather Nogueira, marketing chief at the UK branch of US parent firm Hanesbrands, also defends the posters. She said: “We believe that the old cliche of women looking sexy to cater to someone else’s gaze has been replaced with women wanting to feel sexy on their own terms. This campaign is our way of empowering women to express their individuality with confidence in themselves and in their style.”
Wonderbra is the third largest bra brand in the country and the new adverts showcase its best-selling Ultimate Silhouette strapless bra.