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The Calgary Stampede is coming — and some aren’t impressed with its latest ad

Clagery Stampede advertisement

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In the 2015 Calgary Stampede’s new ad, a 46-second clip titled “Champions Buckle Up,” eight people get ready for the city’s annual Stampede.

The problem? A serious lack of diversity, critics claim. And sexism. (As part of getting ready for the Stampede, the women featured in the ad don “Daisy Duke” shorts and put on mascara.)

“It is utterly beyond me what on earth Stampede thinks they’re selling with this ad,” Rebecca Sullivan, a social sciences professor at the University of Calgary who specializes in cultural studies told the Calgary Herald, criticizing the ad for focuses on white, able-bodied males at the expense of women, minorities and the disabled.

“The purpose of the ad is to reflect Stampede’s values,” she added. “The ad reflects some pretty awful values that I don’t think Stampede stands for.”

Sullivan said that last year’s ad depicted both male and female rodeo competitors and featured a better variety of Stampede participants and visitors.

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“There was total diversity,” Sullivan said of 2014’s ad. “The fact that last year’s ad recognized and respected diversity, not perfectly, but made that effort to demonstrate Stampede values, makes this ad all the more discouraging.”

“We have to care every year, every day about diversity and inclusion.”

Theresa Howland, the director of consumer sales and sponsorship for the Calgary Stampede, responded to the ad’s criticism by reassuring Calgarians that additional pieces will showcase different groups — but noted that while they were able to include a black actor and young Asian girl in the ad in question, they were unable to feature “every different type of culture” in the commercials:

“We’re very happy to showcase the diversity and have people participate in Stampede in lots of different ways.”