{"id":11585,"date":"2019-02-28T07:43:03","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T07:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=11585"},"modified":"2019-02-28T02:06:23","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T02:06:23","slug":"why-a-sportswear-ad-campaign-blew-up-in-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/why-a-sportswear-ad-campaign-blew-up-in-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Why a Sportswear Ad Campaign Blew Up in Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are now hitting the “gender” holiday season in Russia. Defender of the Fatherland<\/a>\u00a0on February 23 is usually seen as “men’s day,” and March 8 is International Women’s Day<\/a>. Incidentally, a recent ad campaign by Reebok has started a heated debate\u2014and backlash\u2014around the subject of gender roles, feminism, and appropriate behavio(u)r.<\/p>\n

A couple of warnings are in order. While this post does not feature obscene language, it does mention risque themes in advertising. The post also mentions a specific brand only when it is relevant to the story\u2014this is not meant to endorse any brand.<\/p>\n

\"female

Photo by\u00a0John Arano<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

What Happened?<\/h2>\n

The exercise apparel brand Reebok was planning to adapt their BeMoreHuman ad campaign (\u0440\u0435\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0301\u043c\u043d\u0430\u044f \u043a\u0430\u043c\u043f\u0430\u0301\u043d\u0438\u044f<\/strong>) in Russia. A marketing manager for the Russian subsidiary got in touch with the blogger and activist Zalina Marshenkulova (\u0417\u0430\u043b\u0438\u0301\u043d\u0430 \u041c\u0430\u0440\u0448\u0435\u043d\u043a\u0443\u0301\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/strong>). Zalina is known for her Telegram channel<\/a> “\u0416\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f \u0432\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0442\u044c<\/strong>” (loosely translated as “Girl Power”), where she criticizes sexism and objectification of women in advertising.<\/p>\n

In the end, the campaign was adapted to feature female athletes and Zalina, who talked about how women can do anything. The Russian campaign was labeled with the hashtag “\u041d\u0438 \u0432 \u043a\u0430\u043a\u0438\u0435 \u0440\u0430\u0301\u043c\u043a\u0438<\/strong>” (“Out of line”). Here is the video that accompanied the campaign.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?time_continue=188&v=kGuxAaOFBAI<\/p>\n

What’s Wrong With That?<\/h2>\n

One of the images that upset many commentators was one featuring the crouching Zalina and the slogan “\u041f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0441\u044f\u0301\u0434\u044c \u0441 \u0438\u0433\u043b\u044b\u0301 \u043c\u0443\u0436\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0301\u0433\u043e \u043e\u0434\u043e\u0431\u0440\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0438\u044f \u043d\u0430 \u043c\u0443\u0436\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0301\u0435 \u043b\u0438\u0446\u043e\u0301<\/strong>.” Let’s break down this phrase to see what the fuss is all about.<\/p>\n