01/02/2008

Woolworths Drops Lolita Bed For Girls

Woolworths has been forced to withdraw a range of bedroom furniture for young girls. The advertisement for the £395 Lolita Midsleeper Combi sparked a flood of complaints from parents who forced the move.

‘Lolita’, the title of Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel about a 12-year-old temptress, has become a byword for a sexually precocious young girl.

Woolworth’s website Editor Catherine Hanly contacted Woolworths after receiving the complaints.

A Woolworths spokeswoman said: "Now this has been brought to our attention, the product has been removed from sale with immediate effect.

She said the product was from a company that advertises its products on Woolworths' website and then delivers them direct to customers.

A protest was launched on the www.raisingkids.co.uk website which branded the name as being in "unbelievably bad taste".

She said a press officer later told her the staff running the Woolworths' website "had no idea about that word".

The press officer told her: "They'd never heard of the word and in fact, neither had I. I had to go on to Wikipedia to find out the meaning of the word."

(GC)

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