In an effort to reach out to more of its customers, Optus has been forced to backtrack on its actions after threats to the company's staff were made online.

The second largest telecommunications company in Australia, Optus puts up advertisements to appeal to Australia's diverse population and the multitude of languages spoken in the country. The specific advertisement in question, however, was one that was written in Arabic.

Translated in English, the sign reads: "We speak your language. Come to one of these Optus stores and chat to us in Arabic."

Maybe it was bad timing considering recent events, or maybe people just took it the wrong way. Regardless, the public's extreme reaction to the advertisement has pressured the company to pull back on its campaign and take down the ad.

"Following a threat to our store staff, we made the decision to remove some materials that were published in Arabic," an Optus spokesperson said. "The safety and security of our staff is paramount."

The specific store referred to in the company's statement is the Optus branch located in Casula Mall in southwest Sydney. There, the staff of the store was allegedly threatened after the Arabic ad was displayed following the terrorist attacks in Paris.

What if the advertisement had been written in any other language besides Arabic? What would the public's reaction be then? Well, the same advertisement in fact was also made in Chinese and Vietnamese. Of course, those were easily overlooked. Despite the extreme criticism, Optus has a number of stores still carrying the Arabic signage. Understandably, those store locations won't be revealed to keep both the staff and customers safe.

On the flip side, Optus has also received tons of support by netizens to put their campaign back on track. And even though the company took down some of its ads, Optus has been replying to each and every criticism with a firm response upholding its stand on multiculturalism and inclusivity.

For example, one customer questioned why Optus was advertising in a "middle eastern language and not English" further commenting, "This is an outrage, this is Australia not Syria."

In response, "Just like advertising in Italian at Italian restaurants in my neighbourhood at Carlton, or Vietnamese at a Phở restaurant in the suburbs; we welcome all of our customers, and where we can, we love to be able to assist customers in their native language," Optus said.

Photo: James Cridland | Flickr