A construction sign at MarketFair Mall in Princeton, N.J., is "apologizing" for the catcalls its workers have made at women.
The sign, located outside of a New Jersey mall, according to Jezebel, reads:
We apologize for the whistling construction workers, but man you look good!
So we will soon, please pardon our dust, dirt, and other assorted inconveniences.
Since so many women have experienced street harassment -- an estimated 90 percent of women by age 19 -- it's perhaps no surprise the ad didn't go over well.
A Change.org petition to remove the sign is quickly gathering signatures, and another one has been started on Stopstreetharassment.org.
Holly Kearl, the founder of Stop Street Harassment, said in an e-mail message that she contacted the mall about the sign and that a marketing representative responded to say that it would be removed.
The sign joins a long list of marketing materials companies end up apologizing for once they discover that many female consumers don't find them amusing. Often the renounced ads have touched on themes like sexual harassment, sexual assault, gender inequality and menstruation.
In March, a Belvedere vodka campaign featuring a man holding a woman against her will appeared with the tagline "Unlike some people, Belvedere always goes down smoothly." Outrage was swift enough that, according to Forbes, the company pulled evidence of the ad from social media sites within an hour.
The same month, a Twitter user snapped a picture of the cleaning instructions printed on a tag inside her boyfriend's Madhouse brand pants: "Give it to your woman ... It's her job."
And last summer, there was the milk campaign that implied women are near-certifiable right before their periods. Taglines on photos of men apparently terrified of their partners read, "I'm sorry for the thing -- or things -- I did or didn't do" and "I'm sorry I listened to what you said and not what you meant."
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