Walkers have withdrawn a crisp advert deemed “insensitive and offensive” by construction union UCATT.
The ad, which was aired on Monday night during the final episode of Broadchurch, shows ex-footballer Gary Lineker having wet concrete poured on him from a great height as he refuses to share his crisps.
The commercial coincided with the opening of the inquest into the death of Rene Tkacik who was killed on 7th March 2014 on Crossrail when concrete fell on him.
Steve Murphy, General Secretary of UCATT, said, “This advert is extremely insensitive and offensive. There is nothing amusing about accidents on construction sites and the timing of the advert could not have been worse. If Walkers have a social conscience they should remove the advert and immediately apologise to Mr Tkacik’s family.”
Last year 42 construction workers were killed at work in the UK and construction is the country’s most dangerous industry.
Mr Murphy added, “Rather than make fun of the dangers faced daily by workers on construction sites perhaps the media should ask itself why when a worker is killed, these tragedies are often ignored. Construction deaths and accidents should not be considered an occupational hazard.”
A Walkers spokesperson said, “As soon as we were made aware of this issue we immediately took the decision to stop running this advert. We did not set out to cause offence and sincerely apologise for any upset that may have been caused.”
