Toil and Trouble

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

WHSmith and the Bunny Girls

So, years after my innocent student "Off The Shelf" campaign in WHSmiths in Leamington Spa, funnily enough, not only has nothing changed at WHSmiths, but they have lowered their sights and are now unapologetic about selling Playboy accessories to schoolgirls.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/gender/story/0,11812,1549273,00.html

I have emailed them to indicate my awareness of their policy, and suggest that they remove all such items from their stores, or at the very least, market and display them in a way which makes it clear that they do not endorse selling pornography-related items to schoolchildren.

If you feel similarly splenetic, drop them a line and suggest to them that they refrain from blatantly exploiting the schools market in this way: suggestions@whsmithonline.co.uk

I am trying to find out what WHSmith's official policy on stocking pornography actually is, as I did just read somewere that they *had* stopped selling titles such as Playboy, but as I rarely go into WHSmiths and never really notice what's on the top shelf (being 5'0) I'm not sure if this is still true.

I'll let you know if I ever hear back from them...If you also contact them, let me know, and keep me posted on any replies you may receive.