The company has since apologized and pulled the ads
Sprite is apologizing after a marketing campaign in Ireland called “Brutally Refreshing” drew ire for being brutally sexist. The soda brand launched the campaign earlier this year with ads that included lines like “She’s seen more ceilings than Michelangelo” and “A 2 at 10 is a 10 at 2.”
From the get-go, it was clear that the ads were intended for a male audience — though, as the International Business Times reports, the company claimed it was simply “celebrating those with guts to tell it like it is.”
Irish radio presenter Louise McSharry took to Twitter on Tuesday to express her outrage over the campaign:
SERIOUSLY with this takeover in 2016? pic.twitter.com/q5TBk5AmdL
— Louise McSharry (@louisemcsharry) August 2, 2016
Others chimed in with additional jabs at Sprite and its marketing team, with some saying the ad could do irreparable harm to the brand:
Sprite: "We'd like to aim our product at a misogynistic audience."
— Tommy Smith (@tommyxcore) August 3, 2016
Marketer: "Say no more."#BrutallyRefreshing pic.twitter.com/y9VWhV9CVX
Ad man-So what market are you aiming for?
— shaun brilldream (@shaunbrilldream) August 3, 2016
Sprite-Total arseholes
Ad man-I've got just the thing #BrutallyRefreshing
It's not #BrutallyRefreshing @CocaCola. It's a parade of misogynistic slurs, and a stain on your legacy. You should be ashamed of yourselves
— Desktop Hippie (@desktophippie) August 3, 2016
The ads are certainly a far cry from other Coca-Cola campaigns that work to celebrate inclusivity (remember “I’d like to buy the world a Coke?”).
According to CNN, the soft drink giant has since apologized for the campaign, pulling it from billboards and websites across Ireland. A spokesperson said the campaign has now ended “and the advert will not appear again.”
• Sprite's #BrutallyRefreshing Ads Were Brutally Sexist [CNN]
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