Honey Birdette rolls out new porny window displays just in time for XMAS holidays
The presence of Santa in public places like shopping malls naturally attracts the interest of children. This fact seems to have no bearing at all on sex store Honey Birdette, which has a long history of appropriating the popular figure of Christmas cheer in its full length window displays.
In the company’s latest expression of disregard for women, children and community well-being, Honey Birdette has co-opted a treasured figure synonymous with children’s Christmas fun for its porn themed promotions.
An ad for ‘Morgan’ - spotted at a Lendlease-owned shopping centre - features two women in red lingerie leaning against a rope-bound Santa. With his signature white beard and red suit, the larger-than-life threesome-bondage-session-with-Santa ad - and others - are sure to catch kids’ eyes.
Add to this the fact these pornified window displays are just a short distance from where children are having pictures taken with Santa, Honey Birdette is effectively advertising to children.
Why do the so-called ‘Champions of Change’ property group CEOs keep allowing this?
This picture below was taken at Westfield shopping centre in Canberra a couple of years ago.
This year Lendlease and Honey Birdette’s other landlords facilitated a string of sexist, objectifying, porn, BDSM- and orgy-themed ads. For years they’ve failed to take meaningful action to stop Honey Birdette’s porn-themed ads, instead hiding behind a self-regulated advertising system which has no power to penalise repeat corporate offenders.
Honey Birdette recently topped 100 Ad Standards case reviews, 45 of which were upheld for breaching the advertising Code of Ethics.
We have spent years documenting the harms of objectifed portayals of women and girls. For example, see our submission to the AHRC National Inquiry into Workplace Sexual Harassment and the recent inquiry into violence against women. But while committing to stamp out sexism, these ‘male champions’ continue to enable and profit from it.
L-R (Top): Property Male Champions Peter Allen (CEO Scentre Group - Westfield AU), Steve McCann (CEO Lendlease Group), Grant Kelley (CEO Vicinity Centres), Bob Johnston (CEO The GPT Group), Darren Steinberg (CEO Dexus); (Bottom) Steve Conry (CEO JLL Australia), Michael O'Brien (Managing Director Global Real Estate, QIC), John Mulcahy (Chair Mirvac), Daryl Browning (CEO ISPT), Mark Steinert (Managing Director Stockland)
How about some Corporate Social Responsibility for Christmas? That would be nice.
Cross Honey Birdette's landlords off your Christmas list this year and see here for other corporate sexploitation offenders to avoid - they don’t deserve your money.
Video: Porn Culture: Marketing, Advertising and Corporate Social Responsibility. At the 2019 Australian Summit to End Sexual Exploitation Melinda Tankard Reist spoke on the double standards of Male Champions who host Honey Birdette's porn-themed ads in their shopping centres.
See also
Collective Shout responds to common defences of Honey Birdette sexploitation
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