French retailer facing naked truth
La Redoute’s staffers failed to notice a naked man lingering in the background of this fashion shoot for children’s beachwear.
The photo of a naked man in advertising for a French clothier continues to make the rounds on the Internet, causing continued embarrassment for the company.
La Redoute’s photo for children’s beachwear featured a naked man in the background, and even the option to zoom into the frame with a magnifying glass.
The company immediately fell on its sword, but that hasn’t stopped the photo from making the rounds, the BBC reported.
In a tweet, La Redoute said that it "apologizes for the photo published on its site and is doing what's necessary to remove it.”
The photo appeared on the company website. It showed children playing in the sand, with the naked sunbather lazily strolling through the water in the background.
La Redoute immediately removed the photo upon learning of the faux pas, The Daily Mail said.
To add insult to injury, T-shirts advertised on the website feature a spelling mistake. Instead of saying, “Enjoy the holidays,” the shirts read, “Enjoy the holydays” across the front.
Now La Redoute is facing the music. The naked man has been air brushed into numerous situations, including the storming of the Bastille and alongside Sigourney Weaver in a scene from Aliens, News.com.au said.
At least one public relations expert said the company did the right thing.
"Professionally, I'd say that La Redoute has taken the best course of action in the situation," Sally Julien told the Huffington Post’s Weird News. "When they realized that some people were offended, La Redoute pulled the offending images quickly, stated its intentions for ensuring that this didn't happen again, and apologized."
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!