Angkas 'Sincerely Apologizes' for Its 'Stepdad' Promo Ad
(SPOT.ph) Motorcycle-hailing app Angkas apologized Friday night for its recent advertisement which joked about a woman, telling her stepdad that she's stuck—in traffic.
The joke, which a quick Google search will show links to pornographic sites, was bashed on social media for being "disgusting" and demeaning to women, especially coming from a male-dominated company. The post, which has the promo code "ANGKASDADDY", has been taken down.
"We sincerely apologize for our recent post that caused offense to members of our community. It was not our intention, nor will we ever support or permit even the slightest disregard of women's rights and human dignity," it said in a post Friday.
"We won't always get things done perfectly, but we in Angkas will always listen to our community. And we will always aim to serve with honesty, humility, and respect."
Also read: With This Traffic, Is it Time You Finally Try a Motorcycle Taxi?
Angkas takes down its 'Stepdad' ad
Known for riding the viral trends as vessel for new promos and discounts, Angkas hopped on yet another trend, with some Facebook users reacting "haha" to its original post.
Angkas captioned it with "what are you doing stepdad" and part of the caption read that those who use the promo code had the chance to win a three-day, two-night staycation.
"There’s a silent pandemic of incest rape in the Philippines, especially victimizing adolescent girls. Perpetrators are mostly fathers and uncles. How disgusting is it that a male-dominated company is not only normalizing, but even promoting this kind of behavior?" said sociologist and professor Athena Charanne Presto in a tweet.
In a thread, Move As One Coalition organizer Hya Bendaña called the Angkas ad "a bad ad."
"Do you even know how common sexual assault is by stepfathers in the Philippines? Sana gumawa muna ng basic research ad team n'yo bago magpalakad ng ganitong kagaguhan. Ino-normalize talaga natin incest at gagawing funny? Paka-sahol," she said in another tweet, tagging Angkas.
Bendaña also sent a message to Angkas CEO's George Royeca, saying the ad "harms our safe spaces as women" and that she personally felt threatened as a woman and as a regular Angkas user.
Taking down the ad and apologizing isn't enough, said Presto.
"Have some accountability. The least you could do are raise awareness about incest rape, donate to NGOs tackling the issue AND have diversity in your male-dominated company."
