Honey Birdette has come under fire from furious customers for apparently using the ongoing war and bombing in Gaza as inspiration for its latest advertising campaign.
An email asking ‘all eyes on Ayah!’ to promote the store’s new lingerie collection, was sent out on Monday, angering thousands of people on the mailing list.
The phrase used, although coincidental, is similar to the popular ‘All eyes on Rafah’ campaign that used to draw attention to the ongoing war and invasion in Gaza.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Honey Birdette for comment. The staff acknowledged receipt of the email before appearing to revoke access to their platform of 1.6 million followers.
A member of staff also confirmed that they had shown the request for feedback to management. No comment had been made at the time of publication, but a new promotional email titled “It’s all in the details, baby!” was sent out on Wednesday.
Honey Birdette has come under fire from furious customers for apparently using the ongoing war and bombing in Gaza as inspiration for its latest advertising campaign.
Fans were quick to criticize the branding after the original email, with many saying it came very close to the phrase “even if it doesn’t say Rafah exactly.”
‘Ayah is also an Islamic name. It’s a disgusting marketing strategy to get more people to click thinking it will have to do with All Eyes on Rafah,” wrote one furious woman.
‘All eyes on Rafah encourage people to focus their attention on the attacks against Palestinians in Rafah. “The phrase has gained traction on social media as a reminder of what is happening and as a call to action to look towards what is happening,” said another.
‘You’ll see it talked about all over social media, especially at events like the Met Gala, where people were outraged by the disconnection and harsh juxtaposition compared to the Palestinian people. Rafah is the last ‘safe’ area to which more than a million Palestinians have been forced to flee,’ he stated.
Another said the name of the collection is another red flag.
An email asking ‘all eyes on Ayah!’ to promote the store’s new lingerie collection, was sent out on Monday, angering thousands of people on the mailing list
People were furious with the campaign.
People were furious with the campaign.
‘That is an Islamic name that means the sign of the existence of gods and is also translated as ‘verse’ in the Quran. Extremely unpleasant,’ he said.
The email, which was sent at 12:31 on Monday, described Ayah as a “portable masterpiece.”
The company released the lingerie on its website and Instagram without the phrase, opting instead to “feature Ayah.”
But that didn’t stop potential fans from criticizing the brand.
‘No, you guys should be absolutely EMBARRASSED for having ‘all eyes on Rafah’ and putting a marketing spin on it and making it ‘all eyes on ayah’ to capitalize on the hype of the saying. Do it better,’ said one woman.
The website campaign looked a little different on Tuesday: Introducing Ayah.
The furious women want “something done about the campaign” immediately.
‘This is so horrible!! Someone needs to be fired,” said one woman.
Another stated that an apology for sending the email should be the first item on management’s agenda.
Some people defended the brand and the new set.
‘It looks beautiful. Don’t get the problem that they said Ayah, not Rafah,” one woman said.
The brand sent out a new email showcasing the collection on May 22, two days after the initial email arrived.
The company sent a second email announcing the launch of the collection; However, the only mention of Ayah was in small print on a store link. The email was titled ‘It’s all in the details, darling!’
The official account still appears for most people, however Daily Mail Australia can no longer see it.
The collection has been removed from the website’s “new” list following criticism.
The email’s headline read: “It’s all in the details, baby!” and the collection’s name, Ayah, is mentioned once in a small link to the website.
On the website, customers must search for the collection by name as it has been removed from the “new” list and is no longer a “features Ayah” poster.
Instagram also appeared to go offline for hours, with chat set to “silent mode” before coming back online with comments disabled and hidden and some posts showing the collection deleted.
Since October 7, at least 36,067 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to Al Jazeera. More than 75,000 have been injured. The Israeli death toll is 1,139.