A Canadian town has been criticised for its latest tourism campaign playing on the word “vagina”.
The capital of Saskatchewan province is a city named Regina – which means reigning Queen.
However, city workers chose to make use of the fact that many people point out that the name rhymes with a common word for lady parts.
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Officials rebranded Tourism Regina to Experience Regina with a series of cheeky slogans.
Such phrases included “Show us your Regina” and “the city that rhymes with fun”.
However, the campaign has since been dropped after it sparked major backlash.
The organisers have also apologised for the risqué campaign, reports the Independent.
Jennifer Bowes, a member of the Saskatchewan Legislature wrote on Twitter : “We live in a province with the highest rates of domestic violence and the second-highest rates of sexual violence.
“We don’t need any more misogyny being promoted here. Experience Regina needs to apologise for their ignorance here, scrap the tone-deaf/sexist taglines and do better.”
She also called the campaign “gross and juvenile.”
Meanwhile, other Twitter users spoke up with their opinions.
One such person wrote: “I’ve never seen such a bad marketing miss in my life.”
Dillon Forsberg added: “This is going to make Regina even more of an embarrassment to the outside world. Who made this decision and what were they on when they did it? It’s unoriginal, crass, and will not boost tourism one bit.”
While a local called Hilary noted: “It's all over the news on other continents. They have embarrassed Canada and disrespected women everywhere.”
Sara Maria said: “Thanks, I hate it.”
Not everyone was totally against the rebrand.
One person wrote: “Places with a sense of humour are more fun. Sorry that a bunch of Puritans can't even think of a naughty word without shrieking.”
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While another added: “Your slogan was generating buzz and interest from everyone. You should've kept it.”
The agency has since said that it will return to Tourism Regina with CEO Tim Reid stating on social media: “I want to start by apologising, on behalf of myself and our team, for the negative impact we created with elements of our recent brand launch.
“There was such positive feedback around Experience Regina; however, it was clear that we fell short of what is expected from our amazing community with some of the slogans that we used.
“Regardless of our intent, the impact is valid, and for that, we apologise.
“Thank you for using your voice, thank you for holding us accountable, and thank you for allowing us to be better.”
What do you think of the campaign? Let us know in the comments below.
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