Grill'd pulls sexualised SuperBuns ad after staff backlash

Burger chain Grill'd has pulled a suggestive advertisement from its website and told staff to remove placards displayed in stores, after the image drew backlash from female employees who feared receiving sexualised comments.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Grill'd's marketing team issued an internal memo to restaurants around the country last week, ordering the removal of ads depicting a burger resting on the lower back of a woman in activewear with her midriff exposed, alongside the text "Super Buns to brag about."

"We ask all restaurants to remove the blue 'SuperBuns to Brag About' A-Frame and internal poster from restaurants," the dispatch stated.

Another version of the ad, featuring a burger balanced on a man's bicep with the same tagline, has not been pulled.

Background

Soon after Grill'd launched the SuperBuns campaign in mid-June, Grill'd Workers United, a worker advocacy group organised by members of the United Workers Union, demanded the restaurant group axe the ads and apologise, arguing they used "women's bodies as a punchline to sell burgers."

At the time, Grill'd said only a "very small percentage" of people had raised concerns about a campaign that "may be perceived differently by different people."

Grill'd's statement

In a statement to Mediaweek, Grill'd said the intention behind the SuperBuns campaign was "to bring some light-hearted fun and creativity to a product category that's often bland and functional," featuring both male and female athletes, with a focus on strength and vibrancy that reflects the product's benefits.

"The performance and nutritional benefits are genuine, and we wanted to communicate them in a way that's engaging and memorable, rather than clinical," the company said.

"With that said, we take the feedback of our team seriously, and with a very small percentage of our team raising concern regarding one specific image used in the campaign marketing material, we've made the decision to remove it. We will continue the campaign, highlighting the performance benefits of our burgers and High Protein, Low Carb SuperBun."

Grill'd's other marketing headache

The SuperBuns backlash isn't Grill'd's only run-in with regulators and customers over its burger marketing this year.

In June, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched Federal Court proceedings against Grill'd, alleging the chain overstated how many Tuesday burger purchases actually qualified for tree-planting donations under its Tree Day Tuesday campaign.

ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb described the conduct as a form of greenwashing, alleging that only about 4 per cent of the more than 5 million Tuesday burgers sold during the promotion qualified for a donation.

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