We can't tell if we should laugh or cry over Nine West's latest attempt to be cool.
The New York Times reported Friday that the semi-affordable, semi-fashionable shoe company has debuted a new collection of ads that are (clearly) meant to be taken in jest, but teeter right on the edge between funny and offensive.
The campaign offers shoe solutions for things like the "anticipatory walk of shame" and "starter husband hunting," which the brand says is keeping up with what women today are looking for, according to senior vice president of marketing Erika Szychowsk. "We have to change the way we talk about occasions because women are modern now and shop for a different reason. 'Starter husband hunting,' for example, might once have been called night-on-the-town shoes," she told NYT.
But while these ads are not intended to be taken literally, we can't help but think that plenty of women might be put off at the thought that their goal in buying a pair of shoes is to land a husband or look good after a wild night. In fact, Jen Drexler, senior vice president at the Insight Strategy Group has already thought of a new way they could have spun it. “If you really liked women, you’d be calling that a ‘victory lap,’ not a ‘walk of shame,’" she said.
We're not really sure if we like "victory lap" any better, and Nine West is pretty confident that they're not being offensive. But what do you think? Sound off in our poll below!