Picture the scene: we’re in Copenhagen, Denmark, sometime in late 2016. In a glassy office block, a group of advertising executives are spitballing ideas for a new shoe campaign.

“Come on, people,” says the head honcho, who for the purposes of this hypothetical exercise we shall call Emil. “We need a hook for this thing. What’s hot right now? What are modern women with lots of disposable income really into? How can we flog stilettos in a way that feels fresh, exciting, #relevant?”

There’s a silence. Then one man raises his hand. “Well,” he says, tentatively. “I’ve heard a lot of women talking about feminism recently.”

Everyone looks at him. He ploughs on. “I was reading the other day that women don’t get equal pay for equal work anywhere in the world, not even in supposedly egalitarian Denmark. Isn’t that crazy?”

Emil strides to the window and gazes out over the red roofs of Copenhagen, a manic glint in his eye. “You know what?” he murmurs. “I think you might be on to something.”

Names, characters, places and incidents in the above scene are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, events or locales is entirely coincidental. However, we think that something similar might – just might – have happened to lead to the latest advertising campaign from Scandinavian footwear brand Bianco.

This footwear brand has been put on blast for ‘using feminism to sell stilettos’