Cara Delevingne's 'tone deaf' Jimmy Choo campaign sparks sexual harassment row
Social media users angry with fashion brand's marketing ploy.
Jimmy Choo's latest fashion campaign advertisement featuring supermodel Cara Delevingne has sparked online uproar amid the endless stream of sexual harassment revelations.
The UK-based shoe brand released its Cruise 2018 campaign with the 25-year-old star – who confessed to being sexually harassed by fallen Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein – but has been slammed as "tone deaf" and "regressive" by the public.
The advert, which was launched in November, sees Delevingne wearing a backless, sparkly red mini dress with black high heel ankle boots adorned with colourful gems.
The model sashays past a man in the street who whistles at her and says: "Nice shoes, lady."
The clip then shows Delevingne close up smiling in response before continuing her strut in the city.
Despite the advert being shared last month, it has gained a lot of social media attention in recent days for its underlying sexism.
One tweeter said: "The problem is with turning catcalls into a joke for an ad. The men look like they're ogling her, and one of them even whistles... still a catcall, not a compliment."
Another added: "I would worry about the media advertising lip or breast augmentation as if it is a must for every woman! Because that actually represents a sex object for men. Not some sparkly -Jimmy Choo-shoes walk in NYC with some whistling in the background."
A third added: "I completely disagree with @Caradelevingne and @jimmychoo decision to use #sexualHarassment to sell shoes. #toneDeaf."
The criticism of Jimmy Choo's latest campaign comes at a sensitive time following October's anti-sexual harassment #MeToo campaign which touched a nerve around the world. Delevingne was one of many women who spoke up.
In a lengthy Instagram post, she explained the moment in which Weinstein made an advance to her:
IBTimes UK has contacted Jimmy Choo for a comment on the reactions to its ad campaign.