Post stops advertising flyer distribution campaign after sexism allegations
Swiss Post counter staff were instructed to distribute flyers promoting digital banking and the PostFinance app. The Syndicom union deemed the advertising sexist and the distribution campaign therefore unacceptable. Swiss Post responded immediately to the criticism and halted the campaign.
The sentence "A smile is enough to turn me on" is ambiguous and was intended to advertise a PostFinance app. Syndicom called for the distribution campaign to be stopped immediately on Monday morning. The words the union used in a statement are clear: "The slogan "A smile is enough to turn me on" should actually be a relic from earlier times. Such a sexist advertising slogan has no place in the 21st century and, in the year of the women's strike, is a mockery of all those who are fighting against such structures. Of all people, it is the predominantly female counter staff who are forced to hand out this flyer to customers," criticizes Syndicom. According to the press release, Syndicom received correspondingly outraged reactions from those affected shortly after the counters opened.
As Swiss Post explained to Werbewoche.ch, it reacted immediately to the criticism: "We condemn all forms of sexism. There must be no place for this at Swiss Post," says Léa Wertheimer, Head of Media Relations. "When assessing the flyer distribution campaign, too little consideration was given to how it feels to distribute the flyer. We understand that employees feel uncomfortable. The distribution campaign started today. When we received reactions from employees, we stopped the distribution campaign immediately. We regret that we misjudged the situation."
Sexist advertising
The Swiss Commission on Fair Trading punishes sexist advertising in accordance with Principle 3.11. It states: "Advertising that discriminates against one gender by violating the dignity of women or men is unfair." It is therefore considered unfair if stereotypical characteristics are attributed to men or women, thereby calling into question the equality of the sexes. If subjugation or exploitation is depicted or it is suggested that violence or dominant behavior is tolerable. If the age of children and adolescents is not respected with increased restraint or if there is no natural connection between the person embodying the gender and the advertised product. And last but not least: if the person is depicted in a purely decorative function as an eye-catcher or if there is an inappropriate depiction of sexuality.
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