Renowned fashion brand H&M had to take down an image which was part of its advertisement campaign which included children, after being accused of sexualising underage girls.
The Swedish fashion brand faced flak across social media platforms for its advertisement launched in Australia which showed two school girls in school uniforms with the caption: “Make those heads turn in H&M’s Back to School fashion.”
The brand then removed the ad and issued an apology. “We have removed this ad. We are deeply sorry for the offence this has caused and we are looking into how we present campaigns going forward,” the H&M spokesperson said.
An Australian writer Melinda Tankard Reist wrote on X, “Why would you want to fuel the idea that little girls should draw attention to their looks, bodies and ‘style’? Perhaps have a word to your marketing team and come up with something that doesn’t draw attention to pre-pubescent girls already struggling to thrive in a culture that values ‘lookism’ as an aspirational goal?”
Another X user, a psychologist, Dr Pam Spurr, wrote, “Let’s BOYCOTT H&M until they remove the offensive AD & donate to a child protection charity! We can stop their PEDOPHILE AD spreading to other countries @hm & @hmaustralia We DON’T want children used in this very dangerous way #BoycottHM #LeaveTheKidsAlone.”
Let's BOYCOTT H&M until they remove the offensive AD & donate to a child protection charity!
— Dr Pam Spurr Psychologist and Artist (@DrPamSpurr) January 18, 2024
We can stop their PEDOPHILE AD spreading to other countries @hm & @hmaustralia 💪
We DON'T want children used in this very dangerous way 🚩🚩 🚩#BoycottHM #LeaveTheKidsAlone https://t.co/Imv244v19J
GB News panellist Adam Brooks took to X and wrote, “H&M is forced to pull ‘sexualised’ school uniform advert featuring two young girls in pinafores with the slogan. “Make those heads turn” 😮 This was no mistake, this campaign would have had to go through many people to be signed off,why would people turn heads for kids??..sick.”
H&M is forced to pull ‘sexualised’ school uniform advert featuring two young girls in pinafores with the slogan
— Adam Brooks AKA EssexPR 🇬🇧 (@EssexPR) January 22, 2024
“Make those heads turn” 😮
This was no mistake, this campaign would have had to go through many people to be signed off,why would people turn heads for kids??..sick. pic.twitter.com/vRCAoJkmHI
Meanwhile, an exclusive report by The Daily Mail has claimed that H&M is still promoting adverts that feature children with the tagline “make those heads turn” even after it was forced to pull out a picture of two underage girls in uniform with the same tagline.
The report reads, “One advert, which appears to be from the same ‘Back to School’ campaign and has the same tagline, is still up on the brand’s Instagram, despite it apology and assurance that it had removed the ad that sparked controversy.”
In another such advert, a video shows two young girls turning to look as a young boy walks past and it is caption, “How to make those heads turn on the first day of school”.
According to The Daily Mail report, another post on the H&M Kids page shows a little girl wearing a black tulle dress as the company plugged its Halloween range back in October.
The caption reads: ‘From glamorous divas to stylish trendsetters, get ready to turn heads and make this Halloween the best yet.’
