Left International Women's Day feeling all pumped?
'The world is changing' you thought!
'Sexism is a dying art' you pronounced.
Well, turns out it, it's probably alive and well - hurrah!
This advert was spotted at Finsbury Park Tube today, and it got us face-palming to the Nth degree.
Are you ready to get peeved?
OK, here you go.
Are you kidding indeed?
We forgot women weren't actually in adult relationships with men and, in fact we are actually their mothers or prison wardens!?
And 'keep her sweet'...eeeeewwww. Plus the hashtag #SaveYourself.... like we'll turn into the mythical several-headed serpent and chew him to bits for having a night out.
And Phoebe wasn't the only one who was shocked by this poster.
Taking a look at Uspaah's Insta, the brand actually really does seem to be making a concerted effort to be female friendly.
Look an Amelia Earheart post on IWD!
An acknowledgment that being a mum is well hard.
But then they come along with adverts like this?!
Come on guys!
You gotta practice what you preach.
We reached out to the company, and they sent us this in response:
Thank you for contacting us. We are aware that our cheeky campaign which launched last week has caused a bit of a stir on Twitter amongst commuters.Rest assured, as a company run entirely by women, working with almost a female only team of beauticians and therapists and serving a predominantly female clientele, we very much understand the needs of modern women. The campaign draws on funny anecdotal experiences of our own lives as strong independent business leaders, wives, partners and girlfriends. We stand by our advert whole heartedly and we're busy planning our next set of campaigns. Just because it is 2017 does not mean couples don't argue and as far as we are aware it's still ok to receive a gift as part of an apology.The adverts are meant to be taken lightheartedly, and address things that our pre launch survey showed might annoy you such as an overbearing boss, or your partner coming home late. Our team run by successful independent women also understands the importance of the occasional need of some TLC and this enabled us to build a very loyal client base which we ensure receives consistently high quality beauty/spa treatment including mani/pedis, blow-dries, spray tan, massage or eyelash extensions. It's important to also note that we take working conditions seriously and we are currently the highest paying agency in London offering therapists flexible working hours which is especially helpful for mothers of young children; an area which is massively being exploited in the beauty industry. As a company we are incredibly sensitive to what matters, and mean no offence by our tongue-in-cheek adverts. For all the negativity we've also received tonnes of positive and supportive messages from many people on how difficult it is to not offend someone in 2017. Best wishes,Iglika B. Ghouse
Hmmm...
And it turns out we're not the only ones the company have responded to.
Looks like people are calling it as they see it.
We love a female-ran business over here, and, remember anyone can make a mistake.
Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.
