An online perfume seller’s scent names stirred conversation among Pinoys in a forum social network after someone called it out for using the colloquial terms of private body parts.
On Tuesday, February 20, a Reddit user shared a screenshot of a TikTok post featuring products from Amoi Perfume, a local perfume seller that uses slang words for its merchandise.
“[Di] pa [talaga] tayo natuto dun sa resto?” the user asked in r/Philippines, a subreddit for Filipinos.
D pa tlga tayo natuto dun sa resto?
byu/Lavishlady8 inPhilippines
“I know na [hindi talaga] ‘yan [‘yung] scent, pero, really? Wala na bang maisip na marketing tactic ‘tong mga ‘to? And bakit [kasi] me bumibili pa ng [ganito], kala naman ang cool nila. Sorry, not sorry,” the Redditor said.
The “resto” that the online user was referring to was PeaceTea Malinao, a themed Korean restaurant in Aklan that recently had its operations suspended after its controversial Valentine’s Day promo.
Reports said that the resto obliged female diners to either show pictures of their vagina or have a female staff inspect it “on-the-spot” to avail of the promo. They can get up to 100% discount on their samgyupsal, depending on how “tight” their vagina is.
Authorities have already slapped a one-month suspension on the resto for the “vulgar” stunt. The owners and crew members will also undergo counseling to ensure such an incident will not happen again.
Meanwhile, those who saw the Redditor’s post about the perfume names had mixed reactions.
“Kiffy,” in particular, is a slang for vagina. “Ratbu,” meanwhile, is the reverse of “burat,” which refers to a penis.
Some felt that it was “just one kind of marketing [tactic].”
“Hindi naman siya illegal. So wala naman akong nakikitang problem dito,” a Reddit user said.
The one who called out the perfume names responded by sharing their concerns about minors potentially seeing the products.
“We are all body positivity, pero me gantong branding. Well, you can’t blame them, but you can’t blame me for pointing that out. I know it’s not my business, pero how can you explain that to minors just browsing through the feed ta’s makakakita ng ganyan. Just my opinion,” the Redditor said.
“Hmmm, you don’t have to buy these… why is OP [original poster] getting riled up? There’s Aficionado, if you’re looking for proper fragrances,” another Reddit user commented.
“Andaming poor shamers a.k.a. social climbers sa comment section na ito. Naghahanap-buhay ‘yung tao, marketing strategy lang naman ‘yan. Irony is a proven effective marketing strategy at ‘yun ang strategy nila and there is a demographic market for that,” wrote a different user.
The Redditor who called out the perfume names said they were concerned about the seller’s use of private body parts to call their products.
“[‘Di] naman illegal, pero decency naman sa paggamit ng term. You can use the ebak, anghit, baktol and such, pero private parts should be private and we can do information dissemination on that parts in some other way, but not this. How low can you go?” they argued.
A Facebook post by the perfume seller reveals more details about the scents of their products.
The “Kiffy” perfume notes that it has a scent of “Victoria’s Secret Strawberry and Champagne.”
The “Ratbu” perfume, on the other hand, has a scent of “Versace Eros.”
