Germany’s Transport Ministry has been accused of sexism after launching a cycling safety campaign that features a model wearing nothing but a helmet and lingerie.
The posters come with a tagline ‘Looks like shit, but saves my life’, and feature the Next Top Model star Alicija Köhler in a purple helmet and a lacy bra.
The women’s wing of the SPD party has called for the ads to be banned, while Katja Mast, the deputy leader of her party’s parliamentary group for women, brandished the ads as “embarrassing, stale and sexist”.
A transport ministry spokesman defended the creative execution, though, saying: “A successful road safety campaign should jolt people and can be polarising.”
Other images in the mix as part of the wider push feature other models, including men, who have also stripped down to their underwear.
