A German ad that advocates bike safety has come under fire because the models featured are scantily clad women and men.
“It is embarrassing, stupid and sexist for the transport minister to be selling his policies using naked skin,” said Maria Noichl, the chairperson of the Working Group of Social Democratic Women (ASF), adding that the posters “must come down.”
However the Ministry says that too many young people are going without wearing a helmet just because they don’t look cool, so the campaign aims to change that, DW reports.
Viele junge Menschen verzichten aus ästhetischen Gründen auf einen Helm beim Fahrradfahren. Das wollen wir ändern! U. a. mit einer gemeinsamen Aktion von BMVI, @DVR_info & @topmodel. Unsere Botschaft: #HelmeRettenLeben!
Mehr Infos ? https://t.co/wFnNR3yaiL #gntm #gntm2019 pic.twitter.com/TzlglgAaiE
— BMVI (@BMVI) March 21, 2019
Another women’s group leader says the campaign is “stale and sexist” and that taxpayers shouldn’t have to spend their money “to put half-naked women and men on posters.”
??♂️‼️⛑️Diskussion über #Fahrradhelm-Aktion: DVR-Hauptgeschäftsführer Christian Kellner nimmt Stellung –> https://t.co/CzCphQ8nXc @BMVI @BILD #HelmerettenLeben pic.twitter.com/FW3Mm71GTo
— DVR (@DVR_info) March 24, 2019
According to the DVR, Germany’s road safety association, only 8% of bike riders between the ages of 17 and 30 wear a helmet.
“It’s important to reach the target group of young people because the helmet wearing rate in this age group is terribly low. We succeeded in doing that,” Christian Kellner, the DVR’s chief executive, argued.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
