Ryan Reynolds has become one of the biggest movie stars in the world, starring in movies across genres, and he is a heartthrob for both men and women alike. This is likely why a lingerie company called Harper Wilde decided to use the actor's name to sell items from their bra line. The ad campaign ended up upsetting many, forcing the company to pull the ad as well as issue an apology and explanation for the decision to use the actor's name.
Harper Wilde wanted to attract a customer base to their lingerie line by releasing an ad that colorfully described what their bras feel like. To do so, they used Reynolds' name in one of their ad descriptions, but the message didn’t garner the response that the company clearly intended, sparking backlash from many online, according to Entrepreneur. You can see a screenshot of the ad in question below:
???? pic.twitter.com/uILFuFNOwWJanuary 27, 2023
This came across as creepy to those who saw the ad, and many claimed that this was a greatly misplaced attempt to appeal to women. Others alleged that this kind of campaign likely came from a man trying to target women, however, Harper Wilde responded to this criticism by tweeting:
Our team is 99% women and we absolutely do NOT condone creepy non-consensual boob-grabbing of any kind, even in the figurative hypothetical bra-review sense. We’re very very sorry this creeped anyone out! It was absolutely not our intention, and we’ve pulled the ad.
As an explanation for the ad in the first place, the company explained that the Ryan Reynolds line was actually a quote from a customer review for the bra. The marketing department at Harper Wilde believed that the quote was “cheeky” enough to run on its own, however, it regrets not being clearer about where the comment came from. The company explained further in a tweet saying:
This is a real review by a real customer, originally meant to run with a series of other reviews — we thought it was cheeky enough to run as an ad, but the attribution was cut off by the ad interface (original attached!)
Harper Wilde also clarified that the original quote that the ad pulled from was actually about Ryan Gosling and not Ryan Reynolds, a mix-up that has been made by many. However, this seemed to be intentional as Harper Wilde felt that their customer base would be more drawn to the Deadpool star, a decision they realized was a misstep. Their Twitter explanation further read:
You’re correct that a significant part of our customer demographic is the elder millennial Ryan Reynolds fan — we apologize if this unexpectedly teleported you back to 2017. 😭
While this advertisement was unsuccessful, this doesn’t mean all Ryan Reynolds-centered ad campaigns are a misfire. The actor hilariously was the voice of Grimace for a Mcdonald's ad last year. He even did a funny TV spot for the Westminster Dog Show. Maybe Harper Wilde would’ve had a hit ad if they’d just run it by Reynolds first. I’m sure he’d have a hilarious way to get the word out.
While you won’t be seeing the Deadpool star in a lingerie ad, you can see Reynolds alongside Will Ferrell in his latest film, Spirited, which is streaming now for those with an AppleTV+ subscription. For more information on other projects coming to streaming in the near future make sure to check out CinemaBlend’s winter TV premiere schedule.
