IKEA Singapore Responds To Outrage Caused By "Bling Glamour Home" Ad (Yes, Bling)
Several Muslim customers weren't happy about IKEA's "Bling Glamour Home" campaign launched on 18 June. Here's what went down.
By Rohini Rajaratnam — 23 Jun 2015, 06:14 PM
On 18 June, IKEA Singapore launched an advertisement campaign portraying an urban Malay family that caused quite a stir among Singaporeans
Featuring a Malay family pulling urban poses, complete with gold chains ala Mr. T, aviators, Lakers jerseys, and studded snapbacks, IKEA's seasonal headliner has definitely got people talking, squirming in their seats, laughing, but also fuming in anger.
Hamidah, a Facebook user wrote to IKEA Singapore complaining about the cover picture
Image via IKEA Singapore FacebookHowever IKEA responded that it wasn't their intention to offend and has since taken down the cover photo from their Facebook page
Offensive? Many have come out to express their anger over the ad which was posted on the first day of Ramadhan, as it gives a wrong idea about what the festival is all about
Translated: “Salam everyone, what are your comments on this IKEA advertisement that invites us to shop there? Do you like how the families are being portrayed? Check the father out, to me this is a misrepresentation of what Ramadan is all about."
On the other hand, some Muslims weren't so upset about it and instead found the humour in the ad
Playwright Alfian Sa’at, for instance, said he saw the photograph in the ad as a family playing dress-up in costume jewellery.
“The gold chains are so thick and exaggerated that it’s pretty obvious none of it is real,” Alfian said. “The ad is just cheeky, and the cultural references are obvious enough (we know that exaggerated display of wealth in hip hop music videos) that I don’t think any right-thinking Singaporean would think this is how Hari Raya is actually celebrated”.
mothership.sg
Likewise, Aminah Nuraddina Baagil, 21, said, “It can actually be cute. It’s like a chill family portrait with a rap theme, it’s quite unconventional. But linking the kids to looking like a matrep and minah… that could be viewed negatively”.
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Here's something you might not know, according to cultural beliefs, Muslim men are not allowed to adorn themselves with gold and silk as it is considered haram
According to the Imam al-Bukhari, an influential ninth-century Islamic scholar, "Allah's Apostle cursed those men who are in the similitude (assume the manners) of women and those women who are in the similitude (assume the manners) of men." As such, men who wear gold jewelry would essentially be cross-dressing, which is unacceptable according to Sharia.