Bic gets blasted over ‘for her’ pens, remains silent
Amazon customers have written hundreds of sarcastic reviews for Bic’s ballpoint pen for women, calling it out for being sexist. The company’s response of keeping silent is disastrous.
Look a little closer and the reviewers’ motivations become a little clearer. Though the pens have been available on the site since December 2010, the majority of the reviews have been written in the past two weeks, and most of them read like this one from “Lady Ladyson”:
“As a female I’ve spent my whole life having to scratch all written messages into the kitchen table with my perfectly manicured nails between cooking meals and making clothes. Finally a writing utensil suited for my delicate hands!”
Earlier this week, a fake @BicForHer Twitter account posted joking messages about the brand, though it now seems to have been suspended.
How has Bic responded to the mostly sarcastic pokes at what reviewers view as a sexist product? It remains silent; a move crisis communications and PR experts say is disastrous.
Chirping crickets
A spokeswoman for Bic did not reply to an email from Ragan.com, nor did anyone respond to ABC News’ request for comment. Comments on the Bic Mark-It Facebook page are going unanswered, and the company has no Twitter presence.
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