A committed Christian has dubbed a store’s “OMG” advertising campaign as “revolting”.
Lizette Franklin was “absolutely disgusted and appalled” when she headed into the Dunfermline branch of discount chain Poundland to find it covered in OMG – most commonly standing for Oh My God! – stickers and posters.
Now the South African, who has made her family home in Kinross, said she will boycott what is still one of her favourite shops until the offending campaign ends.
Mrs Franklin, who bore no ill feeling towards Poundland, estimated she has spent a minimum of £100 every month for the last three years at the branch in Dunfermline’s Kingsgate Centre.
And she would buy more if there were trollies available.
“I am an absolute fan of the store,” she explained.
But when she arrived to do her monthly shop, she said all she saw around her, in big bold capitals, were the letters OMG.
As a baptised Christian she said: “I believe that there is a vast majority of religions and we should respect all of them even if we don’t always agree with them.
“But when I saw this I was really in shock.
“It was as if the name of the Lord has been made fun of and disrespected all over the store.
“It is as if the name of the Lord was being used in vain to promote prices and this is revolting to say the least.”
She added that while it didn’t spell it out, the meaning was “absolutely clear”.
“This is disrespectful to us as Christians and should be removed at once,” she said.
However, the retail giant stressed the campaign was in fact an acronym for Oh My Goodness.
A spokesperson for Poundland said: “We’re sorry Mrs Franklin’s got in touch.
“We can assure her we have no intention to cause any upset with our ‘Oh My Goodness’ signage.
“While we know ‘OMG’ is in common use — especially online — and people differ on what it stands for, our overall intention is to surprise and delight customers with the amazing value we offer.”
But Mrs Franklin, who said she knew it could stand for other meanings, said: “To me it expresses the name of the Lord and can be taken as disrespectful.
“If it was to mean Oh My Goodness they should have written it out.”
Campaigns court controversy
Poundland’s OMG campaign is not the first to cause offence.
Throughout advertising history it seems there’s been string of slogans and gamut of gimmicks to annoy, offend or simply wind up the very people big brands are trying to woo.
One of the most infamous is Irn Bru’s ‘Fanny’ advert, featuring a proud dad surprised at his partner’s choice of name for their new daughter.
Overtly sexual adverts, or those condoning swearing, or seeming to blaspheme have also been discredited by disgusted viewers.
An almost naked Sophie Dahl selling ‘Opium’ while lying on a furry rug was branded degrading and pornographic.
Equally irritating to many was Protein World’s seemingly body shaming ‘Are you Beach Body Ready’ campaign.
Meanwhile French Connection dumped its ‘FCUK’ logo after many years of complaints.
Earlier this year Kendall Jenner hit the headlines for the wrong reason when the ad she fronted for Pepsi was pulled after complaints it appeared to trivialise demonstrations tackling social justice causes.
