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Toys “R” Us tipped to file for bankruptcy … Ad watchdog clears lamb ad … Uber apologises for “Wife Appreciation” campaign

America’s largest toy chain Toys “R” Us is preparing to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after struggling with financial challenges over the past decade, reports Bloomberg. The move comes as the US toy chain continues to struggle with soft sales, while remaining debt from a leveraged buyout of the business 10 years ago is also continuing […]
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Emma Koehn
Toys "R" Us

America’s largest toy chain Toys “R” Us is preparing to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after struggling with financial challenges over the past decade, reports Bloomberg.

The move comes as the US toy chain continues to struggle with soft sales, while remaining debt from a leveraged buyout of the business 10 years ago is also continuing to cause challenges to operations.

Bloomberg reports that filing for bankruptcy would allow the business to restructure ahead of $US400 million in loans coming due in 2018.

Ad standards clears lamb ad

The Advertising Standards Board has dismissed complaints that were lodged about Meat and Livestock Australia’s recent controversial campaign featuring a variety of deities sitting down together to eat lamb.

The ad sparked criticism earlier in the month from religious groups, while those in the Hindu community objected to the inclusion of the god Ganesha, who is vegetarian.

However, as Mumbrella reports, the board dismissed a range of complaints relating to depiction of the religious figures, deciding that because the campaign promotes a “multi-faith environment” and is intended to have a humorous tone, it does not breach any sections of the advertising standards code.

Uber apologises for “Wife Appreciation” promotion

Ride sharing platform Uber has apologised for email communications that went out to customers in Bangalore this week, offering an UberEats promotion to users who let their wives “take a day off from the kitchen”.

The BBC reports the email reminded Uber customers not to forget upcoming “Wife Appreciation Day” and offered a food delivery deal to celebrate the occasion by stopping wives from cooking for the day.

Uber stopped the campaign after complaints and apologised to its users via social media.

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