02 November 2023 , 19:26
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Retailer Marks & Spencer has been forced to take down a social media post relating to their new festive TV advert, after controversy and backlash from shoppers.
The retailer was one of the first stores to drop its festive advert for Christmas 2023 on Wednesday as soon as Halloween had ended, but they were hit with a huge backlash within hours of the campaign launching.
A now-deleted post shared on the company's Instagram page featured paper Christmas hats burning in a fire grate which the retailers captioned with, "This Christmas, do only what you love...like saying no to paper hats". The image came from their new Christmas advert highlighting the bits of Christmas people are fans of and those that people don't like.
Sophie Ellis Bextor is one of the celebrities who has appeared in M&S festive Christmas advert (Marks and Spencer)Yet the post drew heavy criticism from followers who noticed the burning hats which were the colours of the Palestinian flag. People on social media were quick to notice, branding it "insensitive" and "disgusting" in light of the current crisis in Gaza.
Since the Hamas attack on October 7 which saw over 1,400 people killed in Israel and hundreds more taken hostage, around 8,700 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
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In response to the reaction to the post, Marks & Spencer released a statement on Wednesday night which read: "Today we shared an outtake image from our Christmas Clothing and Home advert, which was recorded in August. It showed festive coloured red, green and silver party hats in a fire grate.
The Instagram post caused a huge backlash with angry comments branding the retailer as 'insensitive' and 'offensive' (Instagram)"While the intent was to playfully show that some people just don't enjoy wearing paper Christmas hats over the festive season, we have removed the post following feedback and we apologise for any unintentional hurt caused."
Replying to the original post, one commenter wrote: "This is absolutely vile, you should be ashamed of yourselves." Another agreed writing: "Absolutely disgusting. Even if it was recorded in August you should have reshot this image or used technology to make changes. Shame on you!!!" A second shared: "What kind of marketing team do you have that isn’t aware of the current outrage on social media? And who even puts Christmas hats on fire as a festive event? You knew exactly what you were doing!!! #boycottmarksandspencer". A third added: "Your products are like poison now. Sorry won't be buying anything from here."
Marks and Spencer has been forced to apologise for the offence caused by an image from its Christmas advert (Getty Images)But not all shoppers have slammed the retailer, as some defended M&S and said the chain shouldn't have had to apologise for the image at all. One said: "Why are you apologising when it was recorded in August? If some stupid person thinks you have purposely just made it up since the 7th Oct then that's down to them. Deary me.." Another wrote: "Oh for heaven's sake. I don't often use the word snowflake but this is ridiculous. You're apologising because people got 'offended' by a photo of Christmas hats in a fire grate?". A third shared: "Oh please. This is ridiculous, we’re heading for a world where you can’t speak just in case somebody is offended."