IKEA is catching some heat over a new ad running in Bangkok which some say is disrespectful to an entire section of the LGBT community there.
The ad features a man and woman shopping, when suddenly she comes upon a sale and her voice drops into a male’s register in her surprise. The man continues to shop with her, but ends up distracting her so he can run away in horror. The ad, which is called “Luem Aeb”–“Forget To Keep Hidden”–is garnering protests from a Thai transgender group, who are calling it “negative and stereotypical”. A rep for IKEA says they have spoken to the group and are working things out after an apology.
The Thai Transgender Alliance is a watchdog for human rights, and transgender individuals are generally widely accepted in the country, but some think things like this ad set them back.