Harper Wilde/Instagram Alex Livesey/Danehouse/Getty Images
- Lingerie brand Harper Wilde is getting slammed for a recent ad mentioning Ryan Reynolds.
- The brand apologized the day after the ad’s debut, providing critics with more context.
- According to a company statement, the ad came from a real review left by customer.
Los Angeles-based lingerie brand Harper Wilde apologized on Monday after some social media users slammed the company for a particularly questionable ad featuring Ryan Reynolds.
Last Friday, the company shared a sponsored post on Instagram that compared the support of its bras to the “Deadpool” star hypothetically holding one’s breasts. Twitter users wasted little time reposting screenshots of the since-deleted post and sharing critiques of the marketing strategy.
“This bra is like if Ryan Reynolds was gently holding up your breasts and whispering in your ear that you are doing a good job … honestly,” the now-deleted post read, according to reports.
—Kira Puru (@kirapuru) January 30, 2023
“@VancityReynolds can you confirm that a bra company took the necessary measures to ensure we receive the Blake experience,” one user wrote to Reynolds, referencing his wife Blake Lively, according to the New York Post.
While some users poked fun at the advertisement, others weren’t so amused by Harper Wilde suggesting sexual contact with a stranger.
Harper Wilde did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment, though the women-led brand took to its official Twitter account last weekend to provide context for the ad, claiming it does “not condone creepy non-consensual boob-grabbing of any kind.”
—Harper Wilde (@harperwilde) January 29, 2023
The company provided a more in-depth statement on the issue in a Monday post on Reddit, stating the comment about the A-list actor was made by a customer leaving a review about that the company used as part of a larger campaign.
“Hi! For context, this is actually a 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 at the bottom by the ad interface (original ad series attached),” the statement on Reddit read.
The company provided a full view of the ad and others like it for additional context.
In addition to its statement online, Harper Wilde provided examples of other review ads it planned to run as part of the campaign with correct attributions.
Harper Wilde/Reddit
“The core of our brand is ultimately about designing bras by boob-havers for boob-havers while divesting from the male gaze. While we clearly have customers who are straight women, this single review doesn’t represent our entire brand,” the company wrote in its Reddit statement.
