If the headline of this article doesn't already have your blood boiling, the following news will.
Snapchat has been forced to pull a recent advert that made a light-hearted reference to violence against women, most notably Chris Brown's domestic assault against his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.
Over the weekend, screenshots of the advertisement for a 'Would You Rather!' game inundated Twitter, showing an image from the social media platform that asked users whether they'd prefer to 'Slap Rihanna' or 'Punch Chris Brown.'
The advert unsurprisingly upset Twitter users including former first child, Chelsea Clinton, who called the advert 'awful'.
While you might argue that the advert probably slipped through the platform's review process or was an oversight from an employee, activist Brittany Packnett noted that all advertisements are reviewed by the team.
The company's official advertising policy states:
'All ads are subject to our review and approval. We reserve the right to reject or remove any ad in our sole discretion for any reason. We also reserve the right to request modifications to any ad, and to require factual substantiation for any claim made in an ad.'
A spokesperson from Snapchat later told Mashable: 'The ad was reviewed and approved in error, as it violates our advertising guidelines. We immediately removed the ad last weekend, once we became aware. We are sorry that this happened.'
The move comes weeks after Snapchat's stock plummeted six per cent after Kylie Jenner said she was no longer using the app, wiping approximately $1.3 billion (£9.3 million) off the company's market value, reports CNN.
On 21 February, the new mum tweeted:
Following recent advertising debacles from the likes of Pepsi and Dove, the time for right-minded and sensitive thinkers to be employed in marketing departments is long overdue.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
