Adidas has succumbed to pressure from Brazil’s tourism ministry and pulled sexist T-shirts that were labelled “offensive” and “shocking” by the Brazilian government.
The government said the T-shirts, which were on sale for the lead-up to the World Cup, associated Brazil with sexual tourism – an image the country has been desperately trying to shed.
“Embratur (the Brazilian Tourism Board) strongly repudiates the sale of products that link Brazil’s image to sexual appeal,” the Brazilian tourism board said in a statement that asked Adidas to pull the shirts from its stores.
The T-shirts feature a curvaceous bikini-clad woman holding a soccer ball saying “Lookin’ to Score Brazil” and on the other, “I love Brazil” where the word “love” is represented by a heart in the form of an upturned pair of buttocks in a g-string.
The ministry of women’s affairs said in a statement that the shirts were not just offensive to Brazilian women but exposed them to the “barbarism” of sexual predators.
“This is all the more shocking in a country that just elected a woman as its highest authority, which brought greater respect for women and zero tolerance for any form of violence against them.”
Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff, the first woman to hold the office, said on Twitter “Brazil is happy to receive tourists for the World Cup, but it is also ready to combat sex tourism”.
Adidas is the world’s second largest sportswear maker and one of the main sponsors of the World Cup.
