School boy battles company for 'raunchy inappropriate advertising' - And WON!

[rosie]

MEET the 11-year-old boy who stood up to a national retail clothing chain - and won.
When Corrimal's Remy Lebreton-Kavanagh announced his opposition to General Pants' Sex! & Fashion advertising campaign, launched nationally last week, he never imagined the company's phenomenal response.

The retailer performed a backflip on advertising for the "Ksubi capsule collection of exclusive prints, washes and colours across denim and fashion" after a stern letter from Remy to General Pants Group chief executive Craig King.

Remy's concerns were sparked by the bold image of a half-naked model with duct tape covering her nipples. The advertising appeared in every one of General Pants' Australian stores, including at Wollongong Central.

General Pants said it had only received the single complaint nationally when it decided to make changes to its store fronts.

"When I saw it, I was baffled," said Remy. "I thought 'Why would they put it up there, it's so inappropriate'.

"If it's an adult's magazine, you can choose to close it. If it's the television, you can turn it off, but something like this is unavoidable."

On Tuesday, the Wollongong store's staff partially covered the main image, using a black banner with the word "Censored" across the front of it. They also changed the appearance of mannequins featured in the campaign.

"You can't just be a silent bystander," Remy said. "If there's something which you think is inappropriate or shouldn't be there, you should stand up for yourself and do something to make it right.

"I'm really glad with the final outcome. I thought it was a big achievement and I'm happy that it's not going to be there any more - it was too inappropriate."

General Pants did not return calls from The Mercury yesterday.

Wollongong Central centre manager Dean Young said General Pants acted swiftly and appropriately to address the complaint.

"It was a great response to what was an isolated complaint," he said.

"The last thing we want to do is give people a reason not to come into Wollongong Central. The centre management was very happy with the response."

:D

[Edge]

Young Remy's an inspiration to us all. I'm actually pondering ways in which I can use his experience as a teachable moment for my own young children. Thanks so much for posting this, rosie.

[BelieveInHope]

Yeah, now if we could only get Victoria's Secret to stop peddling soft-core P via primetime commercials and massive posters assaulting innocent eyes in supposedly family-friendly malls. I can't see them responding in kind at all . . . .