Brief follow up story. Late last year chief marketing officer of Victoria’s Secret’s, Ed Razek, said transgender and plus-size models shouldn’t be included in the company’s famed televised fashion show “because the show is a fantasy.”
“I don’t think we can be all things to all customers. It is a specialty business; it isn’t a department store,” he said during an interview with Vogue.
However, soon after that Razek apologized for his remarks which, he said, “came across as insensitive.”
“To be clear, we absolutely would cast a transgender model in our show. We’ve had transgender models come to castings…and like many others, they didn’t make it,” he said. “But it was never about gender. I admire and respect their journey to embrace who they really are.”
Apparently the apology was not enough for the trans crusade warriors and as a result, this year Victoria Secret’s hired its first ever trans model.
The annual fashion show also has suffered from diminishing ratings for several years, and, according to Angel Shanina Shaik, the 2019 show has been canceled. It was initally reported that the show just wouldn’t be televised.
Some thoughts came to my mind. First, I will seat and wait to see in a couple of months how the ratings will perform better after this decision (insert rolled eyes here). Also, where are the champion of women when you really need it? Why marketers are being so politically correct? I don’t know you anymore guys. We used to be more ethical than that, and stand for our criteria, specially those supported by common sense. Missing the good old days.
Marketers out there, will love to hear your thoughts about this.
