International Women's Day is celebrated on 8th March every year. The day is intended to laud the accomplishments and achievements of women across the world, as well as make a case for women's equality. Several brands and companies tweak their marketing campaigns to suit the occasion. However, one such campaign drew immense flak on social media. Burger King UK shared a Twitter post with the text, "Women belong in the kitchen," in an attempt to talk about their new scholarship program. The same text was used on Instagram and a print advertisement as well. Take a look:
The original tweet by Burger King received over 116k likes and 38k retweets before it was deleted. The intention behind Burger King's Women's Day post was to draw attention to the lack of women chefs at leadership positions in the culinary world. They also wanted to share the news about the new scholarship program by Burger King UK for their women chefs to take up a professional career in the field. "There aren't enough female chefs in the restaurant industry. So, this International Women's Day, we've created a scholarship to help give more of our female employees the chance to pursue a culinary career. #IWD #InternationalWomensDay," they wrote with their post.
However, the original message got lost amid severe lashing out by social media users. Burger King then deleted the original tweet and issued an apology on Twitter. "It was brought to our attention that there were abusive comments in the thread and we don't want to leave the space open for that," they said in their post. They also said that they would do better next time around. Take a look at their tweet.
(Also Read: Burger King France Gave Away Free Potatoes To Customers; The Reason Will Impress You)
Social media users on Twitter and Instagram severely criticised Burger King UK for using a sexist statement to get users to click on their tweet. Many pointed out that the whole purpose of the tweet was lost due to their casual approach to gender issues. Several also volunteered to 'help out' with the next year's Women's Day campaign.
Take a look at the reactions:
What did you think of Burger King UK's campaign? Tell us in the comments below.