A government-backed advert that encouraged people working in the arts to reskill by turning to a career in cybersecurity has been scrapped after the culture secretary described it as “crass”. On Monday morning Oliver Dowden distanced himself from the Cyber First campaign, which resurfaced on the same day his department was celebrating awarding £257m in funding to struggling venues and organisations. Dowden tweeted that the ad campaign, which is backed by the government and promotes retraining in tech, did not come from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), while reiterating that he wanted to “save jobs in the arts”. The advert depicts a ballet dancer tying her shoes, with the caption “Fatima’s next job could be in tech”, which critics said was in bad taste considering thousands of jobs are being lost in the culture sector. The campaign promises to equip people “with the essential cyber skills needed to set you on a rewarding career path”. Critics said the campaign represented “cultural philistinism and bad governance in one ad”, while others said it “pretty much sums up what this [government] thinks of the arts”. A spokesperson for the prime minister said: “This particular piece of content was not appropriate and has been removed from the campaign. The government recognises the challenge to the cultural industry.” The row is particularly embarrassing for the government because it comes on the same day that the DCMS released details of 1,300 organisations that will share £257m in funding from its £1.57bn arts support package that was originally announced in July. On a day when the DCMS was being celebrated by many in the arts for providing funding that was described as a “lifeline”, Dowden had to make it clear that he disagreed with a campaign backed by his own government. “This was a partner campaign encouraging people from all walks of life to think about a career in cybersecurity. I want to save jobs in the arts, which is why we are investing £1.57bn,” Dowden tweeted. The author Caitlin Moran responded: “I don’t know if the government know they appear to have recently created a ‘Hopes & Dreams Crushing Department’, but for a country already depressed and anxious, I would suggest it’s a bit of a ‘Not now, dudes’ moment?” The shadow mental health minister, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, tweeted: “Fatima, you be you. Don’t let anyone else tell you that you aren’t good enough because you don’t conform to their preconceived social norms.” Charlotte Bence, from the Equity trade union, said: “Fatima doesn’t need to retrain – what Fatima needs is adequate state support as a freelance artist, support that so far she has been lacking. Freelance workers deserve better than patronising adverts telling them to go and work elsewhere.” Earlier the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, denied encouraging workers in the struggling arts industry to retrain. He insisted he was talking generally about the need for some workers to “adapt”, and suggested there would be “fresh and new opportunities” available for people who could not do their old jobs. According to Arts Council England, the arts and culture industry contributes more than £10bn a year to the UK economy. The government’s messaging aimed at those working in the arts sector has been heavily criticised in recent weeks. After Sunak’s winter economy plan was released with a focus on “viable” jobs, many in the arts expressed anger at the government appearing to suggest their roles were “luxurious hobbies” that could be given up for other work. Figures including Liam Gallagher, Lily Allen and Ian Rankin all criticised the government, with the Scottish author saying the suggestion that jobs in the arts were not viable was “nuts”. The singer and DJ Tim Burgess wrote in the Guardian that the chancellor’s messaging suggested thousands of hopeful musicians should abandon their nascent careers. “It felt as if the chancellor was rebranding the arts sector as some sort of luxurious, decadent hobby, and now it was time for everyone to get their hands dirty – perhaps literally, as we are very short of people to pick fruit,” he wrote.