Human rights groups criticised the advert
A Dutch supermarket chain has been forced to pull a World Cup advert which featured singing and dancing construction workers following backlash from fans and human rights groups.
The television advert, made by supermarket Jumbo, featured workers in orange hi-vis jackets smiling and laughing while performing a conga line on a building site.
Supermarkt knalt er gewoon even een WK-reclame uit met een stel polonaise-lopende bouwvakkers. #qatar #wk pic.twitter.com/SfBI05AJNO
— Jeroen Haarsma (@Jeroen_Haarsma) November 1, 2022
People deemed the advert to be in poor taste given the correlation it has to the number of migrant workers who died while preparing Qatar for the World Cup, which begins later this month.
According to The Guardian last year, 6,500 workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have died in the 10 years that have passed since Qatar were awarded the World Cup.
Qatar have also been criticised for the way they have treated workers who have helped to prepare the Gulf State with accusations of failing to pay wages, cramped living conditions and forced removal ahead of the tournament.
The commercial has now been removed from YouTube however it hasn’t stopped Jumbo from facing severe backlash over the advert.
“It is a scandalous and insulting advertisement,” Jan Kooy of the Human Rights watch told Dutch outlet NOS.
Social media users also reacted with one person writing: “Dutch supermarket Jumbo features construction workers in its World Cup ad. Poorer taste is barely imaginable…”
Dutch supermarket Jumbo features construction workers in it’s World Cup ad. Poorer taste is barely imaginable… https://t.co/aTRriymFQ0
— @DontWatchQatar2022 (@DontWatchQatar) November 2, 2022
Another added: “Nice work Jumbo. We also know how morally you think about the World Cup. Realise, there is a whole marketing team on this!”
Lekker bezig Jumbo. Weten we ook weer hoe moreel jullie denken over het WK.
Besef, Hier zit dus een heel marketingteam op hé! https://t.co/cOskYbdEOw
— Gido Verheijen 🔍 (@WieisdeMol_Gido) November 2, 2022
A third tweeted: “Jumbo commemorates the construction workers who died in Qatar in a commercial.”
Jumbo have since apologised for the commercial and released a statement which read: “Jumbo has immediately decided to stop the World Cup TV commercial that was shown yesterday.
“We realise that there is a link here to the appalling working conditions in Qatar and that was never our intention. We apologise for this.”
Related links:
- Jamie Carragher hits out at ‘corrupt’ Qatar World Cup
- Qatar may allow rainbow flags and political protests at the World Cup
- The FootballJOE Qatar World Cup 2022 Geography Quiz
