ASUS drew the ire of many women (and some men) after its PR department made a big Twitter boo boo. The tweet, which has since been deleted, caused a huge stir in tech circles, where racism is not usually displayed.
The tweet in question was from the PR department, and pictured a model showing off the company’s now Transformer AIO tablet, while wearing a fitted white gown. The accompanying tweet read”
“The rear looks pretty. So does the new Transformer AIO.”
So, why all the controversy? Well, the picture was taken behind the model, allowing a generous view of her…behind. The Huffington Post reports that reactions to the picture have been mixed with one user saying simply, “ZOMG!!!! ? :D” while another wrote:
“So the official @Asus account wins the award for “most misogynistic PR tweet of 2012.”
Another user, obviously a woman, wrote:
“I would LOVE to buy that @ASUS laptop, but I’m a sexual object and can’t get my woman hands to order one! If only I were a valued customer.”
ASUS has since issued an apology, saying on Twitter that:
“We apologise for the inappropriate comment on Twitter ealier. We will take steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
BuzzFeed notes that not all users were against the gaffe, with Xeni Jardin of BoingBoing wrote that:
“You guys, ladies suck at technology and the New York Times is ON IT.”
The Huffington Post reports that Sequoia Capital partner Greg McAddo stated, ”
“This business is a meritocracy by and large. I have no doubt that there are pockets of issues, because in humanity you’re going to have that.”
Unfortunately for ASUS, when you delete a tweet like this, it never truly goes away.
