In reaction to public outcry over Swiffer’s use of iconic feminist image Rosie the Riveter, who, in a 1943 Westinghouse Electric ad campaign, urged women to get out of the kitchen and work during World War II, the brand has issued an apology and promised to remove the image from its website.
The image appeared on the brand’s Swiffer website and in ads promoting Swiffer’s steam cleaner.
Of the brand’s seemingly incomprehensible reasoning behind using the image, Boing Boin Publisher Jason Weisberger said, “I love the clear tribute to an important historical image done in such a way as to piss on its legacy.”
Following an article in the Washington Post, Swiffer’s Elizabeth Ming issued a statement which read, “We were made aware of the concerns regarding the image in a Swiffer ad this afternoon. Our core purpose is to make cleaning easier for all consumers, regardless of who is behind the handle of our products. It was not our intention to offend any group with the image, and we are working to remove it from where it’s being used as soon as possible.”
Which, of course, begs the question, why would the brand employ Rosie the Riveter, an iconic symbol of women’s movement out of the kitchen, to urge womwn to get back into the kitchen? It’s like some 22 year old creative read Wikipedia and totally misunderstood what she stood for.
It’s all well and good that a brand issue a swift apology but how and why do faux pauxs like this continue to happen. It’s like the teacher left the schoolyard and the children have run wild.
