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Refinery29

Female tech CEOs pose in underwear as part of Dear Kate campaign for the Ada Collection: demeaning or daring?

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By Ishbel Macleod, PR and social media consultant

August 25, 2014 | 2 min read

Underwear company Dear Kate has recruited female CEOs of tech companies, such as online learning community SkillCrush, in an ad campaign for its new range.

Named the Ada Collection after Ada Lovelace, the woman who created the first algorithm intended to be carried out by a machine, the campaign has received mixed reviews from the public, with critics suggesting that it undermines the abilities of the women modelling.

Adda Birnir, founder of SkillCrush admitted to Time that she did have doubts: “I run a company and you’re trying to have gravitas when you’re a CEO. I was a little bit like, ‘Is it a bad idea to participate in an underwear modelling shoot?'”

“But it’s a feminist company…and I think it’s so important to support companies that are doing work like that. That overshadowed any of my concerns.”

The ads were shot on location at the office of fashion trend blog Refinery29, whose engineering lead took part in the shoot.

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