Honey Birdette has been slammed by furious customers for seemingly using the ongoing war and bombardment in Gaza as inspiration for its latest advertising campaign.
An email calling for ‘all eyes on Ayah!’ to promote the store’s newest lingerie collection, was sent out on Monday infuriating thousands on the mailing list.
The phrase used, even if coincidental, is similar to the trending ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ campaign which used used to call awareness to the ongoing war and invasion in Gaza.
Daily Mail Australia has approached Honey Birdette for comment. Staff acknowledged receipt of the email before appearing to revoke access to their 1.6million follower-strong platform.
A staff member also confirmed they had shown the request for comment to management. No comment has been made at time of publishing but a new promo email was sent out on Wednesday titled ‘It’s all in the details, honey!’.
Honey Birdette has been slammed by furious customers for seemingly using the ongoing war and bombardment in Gaza as inspiration for its latest advertising campaign
Fans were quick to criticise the brand following the original email, with many saying it was far to close to the phrase ‘even if it’s not saying Rafah exactly’.
‘Ayah is also an Islamic name. It’s a disgusting marketing ploy to get more people clicking thinking it’ll be to do with All Eyes on Rafah,’ a furious woman wrote.
‘All eyes on Rafah encourages people to turn their attention to the attacks on Palestinians in Rafah. The phrase has gained momentum on social media as a reminder of what is going on, and as an action call to look towards what is happening,’ another said.
‘You will see it commented all over social media, especially events such as the Met Gala, where people were outraged by the disconnect and harsh juxtaposition compared to the Palestinian people. Rafah is the last ‘safe’ zone that more than a million Palestinians have been forced to flee into,’ she said.
Another said the name of the collection is another red flag.
An email calling for ‘all eyes on Ayah!’ to promote the store’s newest lingerie collection, was sent out on Monday infuriating thousands on the mailing list
People were furious with the campaign
People were furious with the campaign
‘That’s an Islamic name meaning the sign of gods existence and also translates to ‘verse’ in the Quran. Extremely distasteful,’ she said.
The email, which was sent at 12.31pm on Monday, described Ayah as being a ‘wearable masterpiece’.
The company launched the lingerie on its website and Instagram without the phrase – opting for ‘introducing Ayah’ instead.
But that didn’t stop would-be-fans from slamming the brand.
‘Nah you guys should be absolutely ASHAMED for taking ‘all eyes on Rafah’ and putting a marketing spin on it and turning it into ‘all eyes on ayah’ to jump on the hype from the saying. Do better,’ one woman said.
The website campaign appeared a little different on Tuesday – introducing Ayah
The furious women want ‘something done about the campaign’ immediately.
‘This is soooo horrible!! Someone needs to be fired,’ one woman said.
Another claimed an apology for the email drop should be the first item on management’s agenda.
Some people stood up for the brand and the new set.
‘It looks lovely. Don’t get the issue they said Ayah not Rafah,’ one woman said.
The brand sent out a new email showing off the collection on May 22, two days after the initial email dropped.
The company sent a second email launching the collection – however the only mention of Ayah was in small font on a shop link. The email was titled ‘It’s all in the details, honey!’
The official account still shows up for most people however Daily Mail Australia can no longer view it
The collection has been taken off the ‘new’ listing on the website following the criticism
The email’s headline read ‘It’s all in the details, honey!’ and the name of the collection, Ayah, is mentioned once in a small link to the website.
On the website customers have to search for the collection by name as it has been taken off the ‘new’ list and is no longer a banner ‘introducing Ayah’.
The Instagram also appeared to go offline for hours, with the chat set to ‘quiet mode’ before going live again with comments switched off and hidden and some posts showing off the collection removed.
Since October 7, at least 36,067 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to Al Jazeera. More than 75,000 have been wounded. The Israeli death toll is 1,139.
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