Motor industry is sexist and 'pathetic', says minister

Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, has criticised Britain's leading motor show for promoting itself with "pathetic" chauvinist advertisements.

Ms Hewitt, due to speak at the British International Motor Show at Birmingham's NEC today, was horrified when shown a poster featuring a young woman wearing a lacy bra. It urged women to find a way to "your man's heart" by driving to the show, which features "lots of boys' toys".

Ms Hewitt, who is also Minister for Women, criticised the show for pandering to out-of-date sexist notions and described the advertisement as "old-fashioned rubbish".

"As Minister for Women, I find this poster pathetic. We all know that sex sells, but haven't we got past 'boys with toys'?" she said. "In terms of consumer power, women are increasingly taking the driving seat, but this looks like something out of the 1950s, rather than an advert for a modern motor show. It is a real pity they have chosen to reinforce old clichés, rather than present a modern image."

Her words are all the more damning because, as well as being the cabinet minister responsible for the motor industry, she supports its attempts to encourage the 50,000 female science, engineering and technology graduates currently not in work to take up the 17,000 engineering-related vacancies in the UK.

Ms Hewitt, a former management consultant, believes the ads will set back car manufacturers' efforts to shrug off their sexist image.

"We support the motor show and we support the automotive sector," Ms Hewitt said. "But personally I think these adverts are a big mistake. Manufacturers are constantly telling me about the lack of skilled young people coming into the profession, but posters like this hardly help the recruitment drive."

Most car manufacturers are making fresh attempts to appeal to women drivers, who are poised to outnumber male motorists in the next 10-15 years. Vauxhall believes that almost half of car purchases are now made by women.

Chris Powell, the chairman of the advertising agency BMP DDB, said: "The ads suggest manufacturers think car drivers are idiots. These ads are completely out of date."