Westfield has been slammed for allowing what critics claim is ‘hyper-sexualised advertising’ just metres from a Santa photo stand.
The promotion for lingerie store Honey Birdette at Melbourne’s Westfield Doncaster features a woman in red lingerie straddling a man wearing a Santa suit.
A petition has called on the retail giant to order the store to remove the advertisement, which is displayed 10 metres from the children’s photo stand.
‘These images are not something that I wanted my young kids to see, so I hurried past hoping that my kids would not notice,’ wrote Kenneth Thor, who started the petition.
Westfield has been slammed for allowing what critics claim is ‘hyper-sexualised advertising’ (pictured left) just metres from a Santa photo stand (right)
The promotion for lingerie store Honey Birdette at Melbourne’s Westfield Doncaster has sparked controversy
‘My heart sank as my four-year-old daughter suddenly shrieked, ”Look! Why is she not wearing any clothes?”
‘Even worse, her shrieks caught the attention of my six-year-old son, who came running and together they stared and pointed at raunchy images trying to make sense of them.’
Melbourne woman Cathy Trew said Honey Birdette ‘has hit an all time low’ and has called on shoppers to boycott the Westfield centre.
‘Myer has yet again proudly set up the Christmas scene kiosk for children to have their photo taken with Santa, about 10 metres away,’ she wrote on Facebook.
A petition has called on Westfield to order the store to remove the ‘hyper-sexualised’ advertisement
The store can be seen in the background to the right of picture, just metres from the children’s photo stand
‘Exposing children to adult sexual ”humour” involving Santa is a careless encroachment on childhood innocence and joy, and confusing.
‘Seeing Santa with almost nude women in a sexual/intimate context is too complex for them to process and not the type of ”adult” concept any parent should have to try and explain to a child or toddler.’
Australian writer and media commentator Melinda Tankard Reist has also criticised Westfield over the controversy.
‘Westfield needs to show some Corporate Social Responsibility and stop polluting the public space with hyper-sexualised images,’ she wrote on her website.
Over 53,000 people have signed a Change.org petition titled: ‘STOP Honey Birdette using porn-style advertising in Westfield.’
The Scentre Group, who manages Westfield stores, said it aims to meet the needs of ‘broad sections of the community’
Melbourne woman Cathy Trew said Honey Birdette ‘has hit an all time low’ and has called on shoppers to boycott the Westfield centre
The Scentre Group, who manages Westfield stores, told Yahoo7 it aims to meet the needs of ‘broad sections of the community.’
‘The retail offer available at its Westfield shopping centres is curated to meet these respective needs,’ the spokesperson said.
‘As with all its retail partners, Scentre Group works closely with Honey Birdette to address any customer concerns.
‘Any customer feedback – positive and negative – that is received by Scentre Group is always shared with Honey Birdette stores.’