Special K’s new advert tried to make ‘eating’ feminist and failed

The secret’s out, women eat

Sarah Young
Friday 26 May 2017 16:03 BST
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Special K - Women Eat Advert

Forget the gender pay gap, supporting your fellow woman or simply wearing whatever the heck you want, because Special K has come up with a new way to be a better feminist: eating.

A brand well-known for its diet plan that involves consuming just two small bowls of cereal a day and a main meal to lose weight, Special K seems to have done a complete u-turn and wants women to ‘own’ the act of eating. Sigh.

In the 30-second clip, the brand takes a moment to remind us of all the great things that women do saying, “Women are amazing. Our bodies grow babies. We run marathons, companies, solve problems.”

All correct. But, the reason they say we can do this? “We eat.”

That’s right; Special K is exposing the fact that women consume food. Shocker.

But, it doesn’t stop there. They even go as far as to describe the sorts of food women eat and, believe it or not, that includes chocolate.

“We eat almonds, strawberries, quinoa,” it continues, “and yeah, we eat chocolate.”

Now, we’re all for brands using their influence to promote positive messages but this latest attempt seems to have missed the mark.

Unsurprisingly, the Twitter-sphere has responded to air its confusion regarding the ad.

“SECRETS OUT! Women eat! Also we poop and perform all the other functions of human bodies,” one person wrote.

Another added, “As a man who eats more Special K than any woman I know - I just want to set the record straight that men also eat.”

The brand appear to have anticipated this reaction though and has explained its motives in a blog post on its website.

“While some certainly try, no company or brand can suddenly stand for female strength or jump on the positivity bandwagon. We know that,“ it says.

“We’re redefining our brand philosophy to better support women today — evolving everything we 'serve,' from the way we behave to the foods we make.”

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