The IKEA transgender ad called "Forget to Deceive" has caused outrage and been deemed disrespectful to the transgender community. In the controversial commercial, a couple is shopping at the furniture store when the man discovers his girlfriend is actually male, according to a Jan. 24, 2013 report by Huffington Post.
The spot begins innocently enough with the couple shopping for pillows, but one half of the couple gets so excited by the sale that she stops speaking in a feminine voice, which alerts her unsuspecting boyfriend that she is transsexual. That in itself might not have been so offensive. It's the boyfriend's reaction that crosses the line. He runs away in shock and horror.
In Thailand, there is wide acceptance of the transgender community. However, the IKEA transgender ad shows the exact opposite of acceptance. That's what prompted complaints from a Thai human rights group called Thai Transgender Alliance.
This isn't the first time that the company has come under fire for its advertising. IKEA recently issued an apology after removing women from the Saudi Arabian version of its catalog. See the video at the top of this page for more details. An apology for the IKEA transgender ad shouldn't be far behind.
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