Bic Apologizes For Sexist Ad Urging Women To 'Think Like A Man'

Bic apologized after making an ad to mark National Women's Day in South Africa that urged women to "look like a girl," but "think like a man." The company posted the message with a photo of a female model on its Facebook page Sunday, to celebrate the anniversary of a 1956 march led by women who were protesting the country's white minority rule, according to NBC News.

The complete advertising message read: "Look like a girl, Act like a lady, Think like a man, Work like a boss."

Upon seeing the post, social media erupted. Bic defended the ad, saying it was "empowering" before deleting both the defense and the post, and offering an apology according to the Toronto Star.

The company intended for the ad to be empowering towards women, but, in reality, took the entire point of empowering women and turned it on its head. Not only did the ad squash the idea that women and men are equal, but it openly stated that a woman can't be herself if she wants to succeed in the world.

"We're incredibly sorry for offending everybody — that was never our intention, but we completely understand where we've gone wrong," Bic posted on its South Africa Facebook page Tuesday, two days after the ad was published.

Users took to Twitter to call out the company on what has been deemed a #BicFail.

The ad was so bad that one tweeter even asked if the ad was a sabotage by Uni-ball.

This isn't the first time Bic received criticism for sexism found in poorly thought-out ads. In 2012, the company was denounced for a line of pink and purple pens "designed to fit a woman's hand." Comedian Ellen DeGeneres even made fun of the company on her show, joking that "the worst part is they don't come with any instructions, so how do they expect us to learn how to write with 'em, you know?"

Bic better have some Wite-Out for this mess.

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South Africa, Africa, Sexism, Sexist, Gender equality, Advertisement