Dutch retailer Jumbo has pulled its World Cup 2022 advert from the television, saying it 'deeply regrets' running the commercial, which featured dancing construction workers.
The commercial, which featured builders wearing the Netherlands team colours dancing through a building site, sparked a backlash on social media and among human rights groups, given the deaths of migrant workers on construction sites ahead of the Qatar tournament.
'Jumbo has immediately decided to stop the World Cup television advertisement that was shown for the first time last night,' Jumbo said in a statement.
'We now realise that this advertisement makes a link to the appalling working conditions in Qatar and that was never our intention.'
Following is broadcast on Dutch television, the advert received a comprehensive rebuke from viewers and human rights groups.
'Scandalous And Insulting'
"It is a scandalous and insulting advertisement," Jan Kooy of Human Rights Watch told local media.
"It's insane. They have Google at Jumbo, right? You immediately get articles about people who have died in the past twelve years while building the infrastructure for this World Cup in Qatar."
Or, as a councillor, Paul Blom, put it on Twitter, 'How can you miss the mark so much?'
Hoe kun je de plank zo misslaan? Terwijl het maatschappelijk debat gaat over de duizenden arbeiders die de dood vonden in de stadions van Quatar, laat #Jumbo bouwvakkers gezellig de polonaise lopen. #dagjumbo pic.twitter.com/eTNkJ9XrNX
— Paul Blom (@paulblom) November 2, 2022
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