Breitling removes ‘sexist’ ads after backlash

Watchmaker Breitling has removed ads featuring women wearing ‘skimpy outfits’ after receiving complaints from customers.

Some of the adverts portrayed “subservient women” acting as ground support for male pilots flying airplanes.

The group also came under fire from customers for putting on a display a female mannequin sitting on a missile with its underwear clearly visible at its Bluewater shopping centre store in 2016.

The Swiss company is known for creating watches with an aviation theme and it’s adverts have variously included scantily-clad women as recently as 2015.

George Kern, CEO Breitling, said he intervened after finding complaint letters from people concerned about some ads’ portrayal of women.

He said: “I stopped them immediately. Some customers thought they were funny. But such clips were no longer suitable and do not reflect values of today’s society.”