Turks protest outdoor apparel company Columbia's coat ad for being insensitive to poverty in Turkey

Outdoor apparel company Columbia offended Turkish viewers with an advertisement for a coat that read "you don't look good shivering cold." Many noted that the ad was insensitive considering the mass poverty in Turkey, while Columbia's coats are barely affordable for the minimum-wage worker in Turkey.

Monday December 14 2020 12:30 pm

A Columbia ad reads "you don't look good shivering cold."

Duvar English

Outdoor apparel company Columbia was floored by the response from Turkish people regarding a coat advertisement that displayed the words "you don't look good shivering cold," as many found the messaging insensitive and insulting.

"Would you look at this billboard for a 2,500-lira coat? The advertisement agency that made it and the manager who approved it must live in another universe and have no clue what is going on in society," said one Twitter user about the advertisement.

2.500 tl’ lik montun reklam billboarduna bakar mısınız? Bunu yapan ajans da onaylayan yönetici de başka bir evrende yaşayıp toplumda neler olup bittiğinden bihaber sanırım. Yazık! @Columbia_TR #Columbia #OOOOH pic.twitter.com/LIf9pElbn6
— Pazarlama Kafa (@pazarlamakafa) December 13, 2020

The cheapest coat in Columbia's advertised Omni-Heat Collection was priced at 1,512 Turkish Liras on Dec. 14, while the monthly minimum wage is 2,300 Turkish Liras, below the country's poverty line.

"This ad would only work in a country where income per capita is veeeery high. Not in Turkey..." one Twitter user wrote.

Ancak kişi başına düşen milli gelirin çoook yüksek olduğu bir ülkede linçlenmeden yapılabilecek bir reklam.

Türkiye’de değil... @Columbia_TR pic.twitter.com/SJMdu8B4Os
— Eser Unsalan (@eserunsalan) December 11, 2020

"What kind of advertising is this? Do you think people are cold for fun?" one Twitter user wrote.

Bu nasıl reklamcılık! @Columbia_TR insanlar keyfinden mi üşüyor? pic.twitter.com/vh6idztCmZ
— Orcun (@canadian1903) December 8, 2020

"Vile, disgusting, and insulting," another user said.

Rezil, iğrenç ve aşağılayıcı!@kfcturkiye @Columbia_TR pic.twitter.com/zqtbDlRFyX
— Arzu Arda Deger 🎞 🌙 (@arzuarda_d) December 13, 2020