From Reuters:
LONDON (Reuters) - A chain of retail stores in Britain has withdrawn the sale of beds named Lolita and designed for six-year-old girls after furious parents pointed out that the name was synonymous with sexually active pre-teens.
Woolworths said staff who administer the web site selling the beds were not aware of the connection.
Hee hee hee.
Are you SURE about the headline on your post?
I'm so totally horrified.
Posted by: c.c. | 01 February 2008 at 10:17 PM
Also, I totally call bullshit on Woolworths. What? They just picked "Lolita" out of the air without having any idea of what it's connotations might be? I almost buy that they missed the "sick, filthy, pedophilia" angle but not the "young, attractive, desirable girl" angle. Which is a comment on the ad industry in itself. (See: Barbie; most Disney movies; most toy commercials aimed at girls; repeat ad nauseum.)
Posted by: cc | 01 February 2008 at 10:21 PM
Stephanie at Crooked House earlier today called for ideas for other inappropriate product names. There were some solid suggestions.
Posted by: Levi Stahl | 01 February 2008 at 10:50 PM
Good Lord. What were these people thinking? They named a new type of bed (designed for six- year- olds) Lolita... why? It's almost funny, in a very depressing way.
Posted by: Mairi | 02 February 2008 at 10:05 AM
I find everyone in that article ridiculous. No one at the bed company or the store or the website had ever heard of Lolita? On the other hand, the way to object to a product, or even its name, is to NOT BUY THE PRODUCT. There are many more serious things to get riled up about than what some ignorant company names its bed.
Posted by: dew | 03 February 2008 at 11:15 AM