Protein World’s Controversial ‘Are You Beach Body Ready?’ Ad Campaign Triples Sales Amid Change.org Petition
As reported by the Inquisitr, workout fiends love their pre-workout supplements and protein powders for the edge they can provide fitness fanatics in their weight loss and muscle building journeys. One company called Protein World recently seemed to run afoul of their potential new consumers’ sensibilities when their “Are you beach body ready?” campaign offended those traveling the subway stations in the UK, reports The Independent.
The ad shows a model wearing a yellow bikini, standing with legs akimbo next to a weight loss product. As a result, a Change.org petition called “Petitioning Protein World” is seeking to pressure the company to take down their “Are You Beach Body Ready” ads. Begun by Charlotte Baring of East Sussex, United Kingdom, the Change.org petition has gained 41,306 supporters out of the 50,000 signatures the petition is seeking.
The billboards have been vandalized, with some folks taking photos flipping the bird in front of them, while other women strip down in their own bikinis to prove their bodies are good enough. However, for those who’ve written directly on the ads or have defaced them, two wrongs do not make a right, says Renee Somerfield, the Australian model who wears the yellow bikini in the ads, reports Huffington Post UK. Renee told the publication how hard she works to maintain the kind of body that Protein World would want for their controversial ads.
The company also hawks products for men that include “muscle collection” pills — along with their “weight loss collection” pills for women. On Instagram, the company is carrying forward despite the controversy, with more than 300,000 followers and growing on the social media platform, which shows photos of bikini-clad women and recipes and more weight loss fare.
On Twitter, Arjun Seth, the CEO of Protein World, has taken the controversy in stride, bragging about sales tripling and their public relations department getting a bonus.
@ElectricAlley @ProteinWorld @RossalynWarren sales have tripled and the PR department has got a bonus #Winning
— Arjun Seth (@arjun_seth) April 26, 2015
How I’ve felt seeing @ProteinWorld build their brand by fighting the good fight pic.twitter.com/acCKxG98Ae
— frankensteins cousin (@foins) April 26, 2015
The ingredients list for Protein World’s “Slender Blender” is listed as containing whey protein and a “Protein World Thermogenic blend,” which is a proprietary blend that doesn’t allow users to know what they are actually ingesting.
“Vanilla/Strawberry/Banana: Whey Protein Concentrate (93%), Protein World Thermogenic blend (1%): Guarana extract (22% caffeine) & Green Tea Extract (40% polyphenols), Protein World Multi Vit/Mineral blend (1%), Natural Flavourings (4%), Sweeteners; Sucralose.”
[Image via Twitter]
