IKEA International, Sales Tax Evasion Day

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2002 Print Report A Problem

In a side-by-side comparison, a photo shows a happy woman and her child sitting on her son's new bunk bed with his arms around her and the caption, "Didn't pay her taxes on June 15" -- next to a woman sharing a prison cell with another woman, who aggressively has her arm around her with the caption, "Didn't pay her taxes on April 15th.

The implication to the ad, which ran as a half page in The Los Angeles Timesis that one simply enjoyed a sales tax break when buying a bed for her child, while the other is in jail for income tax evasion and in the lecherous grips of a predatory cell mate. The ad was quickly pulled after objection by the gay community, but IKEA said the ad was supposed to be funny.

"When we were creating the ad, we did not perceive it in an offensive way," said Gina Raiser, advertising manager for Ikea North America in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. "But as soon as this was brought to our attention, we felt we needed to pull the ad."

It is the ninth ad in Commercial Closet's worldwide collection of gay-themed ads from IKEA. The company famous for its 1994 ad showing a happy gay male couple hasn't shown consistency in its awareness of gay representation in its marketing messages.

Company

IKEA International

Brand

IKEA

Industry

Retail

Media Outlet

Country

United States

Region

North America, US Regional,

Agency

CPB Group/Crispin, Porter + Bogusky

AdRespect Themes

User Comments

Todd Hill

I think this ad is nothing less than HI-LARIOUS. It obviously isn't a swipe at lesbians -- it's a swipe at a cheesy '50s portrayal of the lesbians-in-prison cliché. I'll bet the 93% of respondents (as of this writing) who hated it are humorless, ultra-PC Amurricans. Lighten up. Give IKEA a little credit, ok? They've done gay folks a LOT of good in the media. On this one, they're laughing with us, not at us.

John

I do not think this ad is funny, because I don't think rape is ever funny. I also do not think this ad is saying that all lesbians are rapists. Who would think all lesbians are rapists from seeing this ad? Prison rape is not necessarily homosexual. So this ad is not necessarily gay or lesbian-themed. It is however in poor taste and offensive.

Rachael

Though I think the ad was made in bad taste, I am not mortified by it. I believe that sometimes, companys just aren't aware of what they are doing. The ad was pulled as soon as IKEA was notified, and I don't think we should comdemn them for the little screwup.

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