Carrefour apologises for “offensive” doll advert
French supermarket group Carrefour has been forced to apologise after internet users criticised a “racist and sexist” advert for a child’s doll in one of its catalogues.
The advert, for the €5.99 child’s baby-like, “interactive” doll Baby Born, was shown with a photo, and a paragraph promising that the doll could allow you to “become a real mummy” (“deviens une véritable maman”), with its 10 accessories, and the ability to cry, eat, go to the bathroom, be bathed in water, and sleep.
It was also shown as available in three varieties: “girl, boy, or ‘ethnic’” (“fille, garçon, ou ethnique”), reports French news source FranceInfo.
Social media users were quick to condemn the advert, especially the use of the word “ethnic” alongside “girl or boy”.
Some simply expressed disbelief at the advert, but others called for Carrefour to remove the it immediately and explain their use of words.
“We regret this labelling error,” said Carrefour when contacted by FranceInfo. “We offer our apologies [for this], which came from one of our suppliers”.
The group said it would immediately correct the wording of the advert on its online catalogue, but did not say what would happen to the printed version.
