After Complaints, Software Company Issues Apology and Vows to Take Down “Dongle” Ads

“We apologize for any distress this campaign has caused.”

By Elise Herron

ShopKeep, a software company that sells point-of-sale systems to businesses, just issued an apology for a Portland ad campaign that nonprofit PDX Women in Tech called "offensive" and "objectifying."

ShopKeep says it plans to take down the billboards.

The campaign in question featured slogans like: "Does your dongle come up short?" "Replace your dongle. It's not that hard." And "Dongle not hitting the spot?"

PDXWiT took issue with the suggestive euphemism, writing in a public statement, "when one searches for penis euphemisms in advertising, they will quickly discover it is an old habit that harkens to darker themes."

Today ShopKeep's CEO responded to PDXWiT, telling co-founder Megan Bigelow that the company was sorry and that it was taking actions to get the billboards down.

"ShopKeep's recent ad campaign in Portland was in no way designed to offend, but clearly we missed the mark," the company tweeted this morning. "We apologize for any distress this campaign has caused. After listening to your feedback, we are taking immediate steps to end the campaign."

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