Bristol-based AI company Narwhal Labs has faced backlash over a billboard campaign accused of being sexist and misogynistic. The adverts, which appeared at Bristol Airport and online, feature a woman alongside the strapline: “She outworks everyone. And she’ll never ask for a raise.” Another states: “Working 9-5? She works 24/7. And she starts for free.” The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received at least seven complaints about the campaign.
The ads promote an “AI employee” described as “always on, never sick and no HR required”. The Trades Union Congress’s assistant general secretary, Kate Bell, called the campaign “deeply sexist” and said it showed “the disturbing vision of the future too many of the people leading tech seem to want to embrace”. Rebecca Horne, head of communications at Pregnant Then Screwed, described it as “misogyny with a marketing budget” and accused the company of selling “the same old misogyny in a shiny new wrapper”.
Another advert in the series features a black man with a tagline referencing Lionel Richie: “Hello, is it leads you’re looking for? He’ll find them, call them, and follow up. While you sleep.” Narwhal Labs, which secured £20m in investment earlier this month, said the billboards were never intended to be “misogynistic or racist” and that the campaign aimed to spark a debate about “humans versus machines”.
The company’s platform, DeepBlue OS, uses agentic AI to handle inquiries, contacts, appointments and documents without human intervention. Narwhal Labs has called for legislation to give consumers and workers a voice in the development of AI, arguing that “silence is no longer a neutral position” when up to 80% of white-collar work is at risk within a decade.
