Bata Malaysia found itself coming under charges of racism over the weekend after a user posted a picture of the brand’s in-store promotional advertisement on Facebook that many felt crossed the fine line.
The copy written on the advertisement made the claim that the shoe was: “Originally created for Indian schoolchildren, the pinstriped sneaker with the distinctive rubber toe guard became one of the best-selling shoes of all time–and is still sold around the world.”
“Originally created for Indian schoolchildren, the pinstriped sneaker with the distinctive rubber toe guardBecame one of the best-selling shoes of all time–And is still sold around the world.”
Here’s a post with a photo of the display:
The comments section lit up with angry comments such as one user asking: “Do they have shoes for Chinese and Malays?”
It was also found that Bata’s website also supported the historical claims about the shoe.
From the website:
“The way they have highlighted the product is wrong. It should market the history properly, not blatantly like this,” said brand designer Sanjay Naidu in his Facebook post.
Tough Times for Bata
Earlier this month The Straits Times reported that Bata lost more around $115,000 after a fake news claimed that the company was selling shoes with the word Allah imprinted on the sole circulated online.
