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Audi has come under fire for not practicing the feminist message they preach.
The car company recently released its 2017 Super Bowl advertisement about gender pay equality online. Specifically, Audi calls out the fact that women still get paid less than men despite their drive, skill and intelligence.
On the surface the video offers a sweet feminist message about the importance of closing the gender pay gap. Audi ends the ad with: “Audi of America is committed to equal pay for equal work. Progress is for everyone.”
Many viewers, however, called the company out on its alleged hypocrisy.
In the six days since the video – which has over 10 million views – posted on YouTube it’s received more than 62,000 dislikes compared to 52,000 likes. Kind of unusual for a commercial that’s supposed to be positive. As the Wall Street Journal reported, around 25 percent of the comments were negative while only 13 percent were positive.
Those criticizing the ad claimed “it was pure political propaganda.” Others felt it was disingenuous because it came from a company that “has never taken a stance on the topic in the past.”
For its part Audi responded to the criticisms claiming it has “diverse hiring practices to ensure equality across [its] staff.” But that doesn’t change the fact the company is low on gender representation.
Of the 14 members on the American executive team, only two of them are women. In addition, Audi’s management board contains no women.
Despite the lack of female representation inside the company it’s no wonder Audi targeted women for a Super Bowl ad considering, historically, pro-female advertisements have done well. And according to Forbes, women drive roughly 70 to 80 percent of all consumer purchasing.
In other words it’s good business to court female fans.
As Chief Revenue Officer of SheKnows, Samantha Skey, said during AdWeek 2014, “femvertising” – a term coined by Skey – not only empowers women, it also drives the bottom line.
Which is why when Audi released the ad consumers couldn’t help but wonder if Audi truly supports gender equality or if they simply support making money.
After all, other brands have promoted so-called feminist messages without actually supporting women.
In 2016, Swedish brand H&M released a seemingly powerful ad which generated a great deal of positive buzz online.
From plus-sized women in their underwear to women proudly displaying their body hair, the video featured a series of clips redefining what it means to be a “lady.”
Indeed as soon as the ad hit the internet people were quick to call it a “game changer.”
The new H&M #ladylike campaign is an absolute game changer, so much love
— Tara // (@immabeahippo) September 19, 2016
Publications like the Huffington Post and TIME applauded the clip as “badass” and praised it for “celebrating femininity in all its forms.”
Except the ad wasn’t as game-changing as it appeared. First of all the ad showcased plus-sized women in order to embrace body diversity. But many H&M stores don’t carry plus sized clothing. In fact, New York H&M stores pulled plus-sized clothing from their floors claiming they had no space for it.
Just saw an H&M commercial with a plus size girl in it but they don’t even have plus size clothes. ??
— Abbey (@CatLadyAbbey) September 27, 2016
Secondly, a recent report conducted by the Asia Floor Wage Alliance claimed female H&M staff were unfairly treated on account of their gender. And employees from 11 out of 12 Cambodian supplier factories claimed they witnessed or personally experienced employment termination because of pregnancy.
And finally – and this is important – the ad was released the same year H&M’s sales growth began slowing down. So it was in H&M’s best interest to jump on the feminist bandwagon.
At the end of the day feminism has become a trendy label, placed on products and companies in order to drive sales.
And as important as it is to increase the visibility of gender equality it’s even more important for companies to practice what they preach and actually respect women.
RELATED: 4 Ways Feminism Became Trendy
