A SCOTTISH building firm have been accused of “glamourising rape culture” for displaying a poster of a scantily-clad female with the slogan “we don’t pull out ’till the job is done”.
Core Drilling Specialist Limited (CDS Ltd) have been branded “misogynistic” after sticking the offensive poster onto the side of a generator in Edinburgh city centre.
The poster shows a blonde cartoon female wearing a miniscule cropped top with the bottom of her breasts clearly visible.
The character is also wearing hot pants, a hard-hat and holding a sledge hammer, alongside the slogan: “Core Drilling: We don’t pull out till the jobs done.”
Locals spotted the poster at a building site outside Malmaison hotel near St Andrew’s Square on Tuesday.
Social media users shared a link to CDS Ltd’s Twitter page in June which apparently showed the poster and dubbed it a “company meme”. The post has now been deleted.
The image was later shared on Twitter where furious social media users blasted the company saying it would be “better suited to the 1970’s”.
Christi12160286 wrote: “Rape culture not just alive and well but glamourised by CDSLTDscotland. Spotted this week at Malmaison Hotels.”
Toni Hargis added: “Meanwhile in Edinburgh it’s 1978. Shame on Malmaison Hotels, Core Drilling Specialists and Sharkey construction.”
While one user wrote: “FFS! Contact advertising standards agency.”
Another added: “As a woman who works in the construction industry – this makes me mad. Welcome To The 1970’s.”
One user said: “Sexism, rape culture…just horrible. Is that actually made by the company? It can’t be, surely not?”
Another commented: “It doesn’t matter if it was or wasn’t really. Anyone who thinks it’s OK to do that obviously needs some serious training and it suggests a culture where that sort of thing would be seen as funny, so he’s probably not alone.”
Another fumed: “Seriously? This is supposed to be advertising and yet women who are breastfeeding are told to cover up? Come on.”
While one user wrote: “I’ve been in construction for over 10 years and I’ve never seen anything like this?! Absolutely shocking. Gone are the days of naked ladies up in the canteen.”
However, another user claimed: “They tweeted it from the company account back in June with the caption ‘Company meme’ so it’s obviously sanctioned by someone senior enough to run their social media.”
CDS Ltd have so far refused to comment on the scandal, while Malmaison have issued an apology and had the sign covered within an hour of being notified.
Non Jones shared the initial photograph of the sign with the caption: “Casual misogyny courtesy of CDS Ltd Scotland in association with Malmaison Hotels – what awesome companies they must be. Boaks.”
The photograph shows a generator on the back of a van which bears the Core Drilling Specialists logo of a blue diamond.
The generator has two signs for C.D.S. and then a third image of the cartoon bearing the yellow hard hat and brandishing the sledgehammer.
In a provocative pose, the scantily-clad cartoon woman is accompanied by the caption: “Core Drilling: We don’t pull out till the jobs done.”
Other social media users shared the image and vented their frustration at the poster.
Core Drilling Specialist Ltd were sub-contracted by Sharkey Construction who were appointed by Malmaison’s development company S Harrison.
Speaking to a local paper yesterday, a female staff member for C.D.S said that they didn’t find the poster distasteful.
She said: “It doesn’t bother me at all. It’s only a cartoon character.”
The company, based in Bathgate, West Lothian, refused to provide any further comment when contacted today.
Malmaison issued a statement on social media following the row.
They wrote: “Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We are equally concerned and the advertising from Core Drilling Specialists is in the process of being removed from the building. We are very sorry for any offence caused.”
The offensive advertisement can be seen on the company’s generator in a picture posted on social media on July 17 this year.
A van bearing the CDS Ltd logo and with the generator attached can be seen beside a large crane.
The “misogynistic” advert can clearly be seen – meaning the poster has been circulating for at least nearly two months.
Other photograph’s on the company’s Twitter page show the generator with no branding on the first of June.
It is not clear when the offensive poster was added.
A spokesman for Malmaison said today: “It has been brought to our attention that a supplier to a sub-contractor of one of Malmaison’s development partners was responsible for an offensive image near our new Edinburgh site.
“Naturally we expect all of our suppliers to uphold the same high standards of decency, and we immediately stepped in to resolve the issue.”
Core Drilling Specialists, based in Bathgate, West Lothian, today apologised for the poster, blaming it on “poor judgement”.
A spokesman for the company said: “We are deeply sorry for the offence this image has caused.
“We’re a local company with female employees, we all have mothers, wives, sisters and daughters, and recognise this type of sexism has no place in our society nor the construction industry, which has worked so hard in recent years to achieve equality for all.
“We are devastated that this wholly unacceptable cartoon image, which was on an old generator, has caused distress and it’s now been removed.
“We hold our hands up and concede it was poor judgement, we got it wrong and we apologise to everyone affected by it.
