People Are Pissed About Harvey Nichols’s New Pee-Stained Ad Campaign

Is it really something to wet yourself over? Fashionista.com has the story for us.

The marketing department at British department store Harvey Nichols sure knows how to get people’s panties in a twist (remember those “walk of shame” ads–excuse me, adverts–that caused an Internet frenzy last Christmas?). But it’s their latest campaign that’s really got some muffs in a huff. The luxury chain sent out thousands of summer sale flyers which read, “The Harvey Nichols Sale: Try to contain your excitement.” Pretty standard ad-fare. Except that the model featured on the ad seems to have gotten a little too excited–as in, she looks like she’s peed herself.



According to the Daily Mail, the clever campaign has soiled many customers’ opinions of the store. In response to the ads that a Harvey Nicks spokesperson called “light-hearted and humorous,” one offended Twitterer tweeted, “That absolutely does not make me the slightest bit inclined to shop there!” Another peeved patron posted, “We received this in the post, hideous! It makes me think of their sale goods as being soiled :(.” How telling is that sad-face?



While it’s easy to see why the campaign has pissed people off, it’s hard to beat a good pun–and this one certainly breaks the seal mold. We hardly believe anyone would really think Harvey Nichols’s sale items are actually soiled–this is, after all, the place where Victoria Beckham debuted her lower-priced ‘Victoria’ line early this year, and Kate Middleton is reportedly a regular. As it’s been said, any press is good press. It seems safe to say that all the excitement surrounding Harvey Nichols’s campaign could change the meaning of having a ‘happy accident.’ Plus it’s probably (hopefully!) just water. Hey, people still bought Black Eyed Peas albums after Fergie‘s little on-stage incident…