I can’t help picturing marketing meetings all over the world where some fool, who’s probably never read a reliable news source in his life, is pitching the next ‘edgy’ idea.

It must be happening, because every couple of weeks we encounter an advert so far off the mark that it’s cringeworthy at best, and downright offensive at worst.

I’m talking about adverts like Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad – the abomination that tried to connect with protest movements but just ended up making Pepsi look stupid.

There was also that epic Dove ad fail that suggested that Dove lotion would turn black women white.

And now, this:

A Hebrew phrase that translates as “Iran is here?” captions the opening shot of model Bar Refaeli wearing a black hijab and niqab, reports The Daily Beast.

Then, Refaeli pulls off her headwear, flips her hair, and dances while a song with the lyrics, “It’s all about freedom” plays. The campaign slogan? “Freedom is basic.”

While Hoodies might think they’re being clever, many Muslim women and religious scholars are tired of the idea that modest dressing is synonymous with oppression. Sylvia Chan-Malik, an associate professor of Gender Studies at Rutgers University, had the following to say about the ad:

“My first reaction is that it’s boring,” Chan-Malik said with a weary laugh. “It’s just a symptom of the kind of really lazy and flat, unimaginative type of thinking that we’re locked in for so many of our conversations these days.”

Chan-Malik didn’t hesitate to call the ad racist, even though it appears to target a religious stereotype rather than an ethnic group. “These types of stereotypes that are trafficked against entire groups of people are very much a type of racial logic that is rooted in the way that we group people, create social hierarchies, and divisions,” she explained.

The apparel brand, based in Rosh HaAyin, Israel, has worked with Bar Refaeli before in a less contentious ad that sees her walking through a sports field in tiny shorts, a t-shirt and a trucker hat.

So while the ad intends to be controversial, it also serves up some unintended hypocrisy.

The message that a woman can only truly express her independence with midriff-baring sports bras (ideally courtesy of Hoodie apparel), robs consumers of their ability to dress themselves.

“What they’re saying is that freedom equals wearing certain clothing,” Nasher said. “You don’t need to take my word for it—look it up in the dictionary. Freedom is your right, your power to act, speak, or think as you want. Within the context of a person’s choice of clothing, freedom means you choose how you want to express yourself, your values, and your morals. That’s the opposite of what they are displaying.”

Refaeli and Hoodie have removed the video from their Instagram accounts. It remains on YouTube and Twitter where it has received almost universal backlash.

“The image of a black niqab, that particular image, has been burned into the western imagination,” Chan-Malik asserted. “It’s a stand-in for the way the West engages the idea of Islam and Muslims. It’s a stand-in for western religious superiority and justification for military occupation. That particular piece of clothing has so much baggage associated with it.”

For many women living in Europe, America and elsewhere including South Africa, the active choice to cover up is precisely that – an active choice. The media’s stereotypical portrayal of niqabs as dangerous does nothing to deter women from choosing to veil.

[source:dailybeast]