Pet the pretty princess pony!

[citizen k]

Talk about tone deaf  :

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/john-oliver-uk-labour-party_n_6736336.html

Pet the pretty princess pony!
With a U.K. election in May, political parties are battling over female voters. The Conservative Party has been accused of generally ignoring women voters, giving the Labour Party an opportunity to gain their support, which they should be able to do easily, as long as they don't decide to campaign for women voters with a patronizing pink bus. They did? Oh ...
On Sunday's episode of "Last Week Tonight," John Oliver took the Labour Party to task for the embarrassing political maneuver, and the equally embarrassing attempts to cover up the political fallout that ensued.
"It is a little insulting that you're trying to appeal to women adult voters the same way that Mattel attempts to appeal to 8-year-olds," said Oliver. "And at least Barbie's pink bus had the good sense to unfold into a sweet hot tub and party den combo."
Oliver offered the Labour Party a commercial of his own that he believes will fix the political damage done by what's being called the "Barbie bus."
Why, yes, it does involve a pretty princess pony!

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: UK Labour Party

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sWRXr2Yu9g

[Grinning_Colossus]

Britain is leading the charge against women's rights.

[derspiess]

Well, women are kinda tough to figure out.  What you think *should* work to win them over often backfires, and things you think would push them away draw them in.

[CountDeMoney]

A shovel and a bag of lime eliminates all the guessing.

[derspiess]

[Admiral Yi]

Perhaps in the Internet Era it is inevitable that *any* action, no matter how innocuous, will have a minority somewhere on the planet that find it outrageous, and this viewpoint will inevitably drown out the mass of indifference and become the story.

[Eddie Teach]

Are they sure the campaign isn't targeted at "Bronies"?

[Josquius]

The pink bus thing made me roll my eyes. Such a storm over nothing. Worse than it being pink IMO was that it was less of a battle bus and more of a rapey van

[Sheilbh]

Perhaps in the Internet Era it is inevitable that *any* action, no matter how innocuous, will have a minority somewhere on the planet that find it outrageous, and this viewpoint will inevitably drown out the mass of indifference and become the story.

The story was this big thing with all the Westminster press (of all ages, genders and political persuasions) saying how ridiculous the bus was and that it was very patronising.

Then someone did some polling and no one in the general public cared.

It's one of the effects of the internet that we talk in our own little groups and don't realise how distant those concerns and thoughts are from the world at large. We're all groupuscules and splitters now. Which is why moments like Dress-Llama night are so wonderful.