New beverage brand receives backlash for "promoting rape culture"
Patrick Rothfuss once said that "as names have power, words have power," so did none of these employees stop to think twice about the implications of the brand's name?
This is not the first brand to come out of the gate with a major mishap and, unfortunately, they probably won't be the last.
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Introducing you to Spiked, the latest alcoholic beverage originating all the way from Nairobi, Kenya.
Now you've read the name for yourself and you probably don't need us to tell you what's wrong here and why people are upset, and possibly rightfully so.
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The second Twitter users caught wind of the launch and their name, Tweeps were upset, to say the least. But in typical Twitter fashion, they did not sit around in silence, decided to call out the brand and asked for a much-needed explanation as to why they thought a name like this would be appropriate.
In one of the brand's initial Tweets, they explained the meaning and thought process behind the "unique" name, but people were quick to dismiss it while listing multiple reasons why there is no justification for choosing such a name.
Let me introduce you to a new concept pic.twitter.com/EhE0QYVG9T
— Spiked_AF (@SpikedAfrica) February 5, 2021
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Even the rest of their advertisement phrasing is questionable...
If you were looking for a sign to get Spiked, well this is it.
— Spiked_AF (@SpikedAfrica) April 15, 2021
Grab a Spiked drink for KES400
Offer runs at 2 or more Spiked drinks for KES350 each.#spiked_weekend#spiked_different#spiked_soul pic.twitter.com/S5FOP9qOmg
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After the first accusations started rolling in Spiked decided to tweets out a series of pictures with captions that mentioned that they advocate for sexual consent.
This might seem slightly contradicting as the meaning behind their concept is that one is "different and totally okay with it" which is the complete opposite definition of what "spiked" actually means.
We advocate for sexual consent #Notagreenlight pic.twitter.com/FsAija968e
— Spiked_AF (@SpikedAfrica) April 16, 2021
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The question still remains: why would they choose to "redefine" such a triggering word for many women, and men?
Being spiked is by no means a pleasant experience. Choosing to change the word's meaning and turning it into something positive can't just be done overnight and people are not instantly going to be 100% okay with it, or maybe even ever approve of this idea.
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The brand is yet to further address the situation and there has been no mention of a possible name change.
Why they didn't just create a brand new word? Or use one that already had a more positive connection?
We might never know.
For more of the best Darren, Keri, and Sky moments, listen here:
Main image courtesy of @SpikedAfrica/Twitter