JD Sports removes advert for Scotland shirt following ‘#everydaysexism’ complaints
Sports retailer, JD Sports, has removed an advert for the football shirt of the Scottish national team following Twitter complaints accusing the company of “#everydaysexism”.
The advert for the men’s and children’s kit showed the models as athletes, however the advert for the women’s shirt showed a women wearing ripped jeans which showed her thighs.
The adverts were first spotted by Twitter user Simon Kemp, who said: “@ScottishFA Looking forward to taking my kids to the Women’s World Cup and thought I would buy new shirts for us all. So please explain why the official seller @JDSports has presented the boys and men as athletes, yet the female model is more ‘traditional’ #everydaysexism.
“@ScottishFA And by the way, my daughter plays football too, as do thousands of girls. What kind of example does this set for them? @JDSports”
.@ScottishFA Looking forward to taking my kids to the Women's World Cup and thought I would buy new shirts for us all. So please explain why the official seller @JDSports has presented the boys and men as athletes, yet the female model is more "traditional" #everydaysexism pic.twitter.com/V2XsVKHiri
— Simon Kemp (@skempleton) February 4, 2019
Later Kemp, who has received abuse from other users since posting his findings, also found that the women’s shirt was listed under the heading ‘men’s clothing’.
I’ll just leave this here… pic.twitter.com/MiY4R57nMU
— Simon Kemp (@skempleton) February 8, 2019
A Scottish FA statement read: “We apologise for any offence that this image caused. As soon as this was brought to our attention we contacted JD Sports to request its removal, which JD Sports immediately acted upon. At the Scottish FA, we are absolutely committed to further strengthening equality and diversity in Scottish football and promoting the girls’ and women’s game across the nation.”
A JD Sports statement read: “We occasionally test alternative product styles online to appeal to the full range of customers who visit our site, from those interested in high fashion and athleisure, to sportspeople and football fans looking for kits and training equipment.
“While the principle images used for this product online were modelled in the traditional sportswear style, an alternative fashion-led image was tested for a short time. Following comments from one customer and discussions with the Scottish FA, this image has been removed.
“The product is now only displayed on our sales channels in the traditional style, and our photography guidelines have been reviewed to ensure this doesn’t happen again. We remain committed to promoting and supporting the Scotland Women’s teams in the build-up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer, and apologise for any upset this has caused.”
